Methods and compositions for treating laundry items

ABSTRACT

A method for inhibiting dye transfer between items of laundry in a fabric treating appliance including a treating chamber for receiving the fabric items for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the method including supplying liquid to the treating chamber to form a liquid mixture comprising the liquid and free dye molecules and dye absorbers in solution or in suspension within the liquid mixture. At least one of ultraviolet (UV) or visible light spectroscopy may be conducted on the liquid to define at least one of an absorbance or fluorescence value indicative of a level of at least one of the dye absorber or complex in the liquid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/793,369, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/822,750, filed May 13, 2013, which are bothincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Fabric items such as clothing, towels, bedding, etc. can be coloredusing a variety of different dyes and dyeing processes. In a residentialsetting, caring for these dyed fabric items may present consumers withseveral challenges. Some dyed fabric items may have excess or loose dyethat can wash off during a normal wash cycle in a clothes washer andredeposit on other items in the laundry load or bleed onto differentlydyed areas of the same item, for example. Excess or loose dyes may alsorub off onto the consumer or other surfaces during wear or use. Sortingthe laundry items before washing into loads of “like color” or washingitems separately may address some dye transfer concerns, but can by timeconsuming and inefficient for the user. In addition, mistakes in sortingloads can lead to dye transfer which cannot be easily removed,potentially ruining the item.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the invention, a method for inhibiting dyetransfer between items of laundry in a fabric treating appliancecomprising a treating chamber for receiving the fabric items fortreatment according to a cycle of operation, the method comprisessupplying liquid to the treating chamber to form a liquid mixturecomprising the liquid and free dye molecules from the laundry andsupplying a dye absorber to the liquid mixture to form a complex of dyemolecules and absorbers in solution or in suspension within the liquidmixture. The method further comprises conducting at least one ofultraviolet (UV) or visible light spectroscopy on the liquid atpredetermined wavelengths characteristic of at least one of the dyeabsorber and the complex to define at least one of an absorbance orfluorescence value indicative of a level of at least one of the dyeabsorber or complex in the liquid, comparing the absorbance orfluorescence value to a reference value, and altering the cycle ofoperation in response to the comparison.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a wash cycle for inhibiting dyetransfer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-section, schematic side views of a verticalaxis clothes washer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a controller for controlling theoperation of one or more components of the clothes washer of FIGS. 2Aand 2B according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a treatingchemistry according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a treatingchemistry, such as a dye fixative, according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are cross-section, schematic side views of a clotheswasher illustrating a method for wetting a laundry load according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a treatingchemistry to a laundry item according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating methods for implementing anintermediate phase according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for implementing a rinsephase according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-section, schematic side view of a horizontal axisclothes washer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a treatingchemistry according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a graph representing change in concentration of a dyefixative over time according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining an amountof dye absorber to supply during a cycle of operation according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a representative absorbance spectrum for a dye absorber inthe presence and absence of a dye according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a method for removing dye accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating a method for inhibiting dyetransfer during a cycle of operation according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 17A is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a dyefixative to a laundry load according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17B is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a dyefixative to a laundry load according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating a method for supplying a dyefixative to a laundry load according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating a method of treating a surface of alaundry item according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating a method for treating a new laundryitem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating a method for treating a new laundryitem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating a method for treating a new laundryitem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 23 is a schematic view of a clothes dryer.

FIG. 24 is a schematic view of a controller of the clothes dryer of FIG.23.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart illustrating a method for communicating dyetransfer information between a clothes washer and a clothes dryeraccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart illustrating a method for communicating dyetransfer information between a clothes washer and a clothes dryeraccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart illustrating a method for inhibiting dyetransfer in a wash cycle according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart illustrating a method for removing dye fixativefrom a laundry item according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 29 is a cross-section, schematic side view of a vertical axisclothes washer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart illustrating a color care cycle of operationaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 31 illustrates a process for supplying a treating chemistryaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 32A and 32B illustrate graphs representative of a change in theliquid level in a sump of a clothes washer over time during arecirculation process according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 33 illustrates a graph representative of a change in a liquid levelin a sump of clothes washer during an adaptive fill and recirculationprocess according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 34 illustrates a cross-section, schematic side view of a horizontalaxis clothes washer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 35 illustrates a process for supplying a treating chemistryaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the invention relate to methods and compositions forinhibiting undesired dye transfer between fabric items of a laundry loadduring treatment in a laundry treating appliance. As used herein, dyetransfer is used to refer to the broader phenomenon of the transfer of adye from one area of a fabric item to an adjacent area of the samefabric item that is not dyed with the transferring dye and/or adifferent fabric item or surface. Dye transfer may occur through directphysical contact between the dyed item and another surface or as aresult of the dye moving away from the fabric surface and into solutionwith a solvent in contact with the fabric surface. Once the dye hasdistributed into solution (through suspension, dispersion orsolubilization), the dye may deposit onto other surfaces, includingother fabric items, also in contact with the solution. Dye bleeding isanother term of art which, as used herein, refers to the partitioning ofa dye from the surface of a fabric into solution or onto a differentlydyed area of the same fabric. Dye transfer, as used herein, is meant tobe generic to all manner in which dye may move between fabric items orwithin the same fabric item. In that sense, dye bleeding is one type ofdye transfer. As used herein, partition is used as the general term toencompass several phenomena including the distribution of a substancebetween two immiscible or slightly immiscible phases based on therelative solubility of the substance within the two phases and thesorption and desorption of a substance between a solid phase and asurrounding medium or between two solid phases. The term sorption refersto either absorption in which a substance distributes within the solidphase or adsorption, the process by which a substance distributes at thesurface of a solid phase.

Dye transfer between fabric items during laundering in a residentialsetting may ruin items in the laundry load to the dissatisfaction of theconsumer. One manner in which dye transfer during a laundry treatingcycle of operation in a clothes washer has been addressed is byseparating or sorting laundry loads based on the color of the items tobe washed. For example, typically, clothes washers and laundrydetergents instruct consumers to sort loads and wash items with “likecolors,” and consumers may further be instructed to sort laundry into ajeans load, a whites load and a darks load. Sorting laundry in thismanner may be cumbersome for the consumer and a mistake during sorting,such as accidentally washing a red sock with a load of whites, mayresult in undesirable dye transfer between the red sock and the whites,effectively ruining the whites for the consumer. In addition, sortingloads may be inefficient as a consumer either has to wait until enoughitems of a single type are ready for laundering or run multiple cycleswith smaller loads as items become ready for laundering, with the lattertypically leading to more overall water and energy usage.

Textile producers have developed procedures and chemistries foraddressing dye bleeding and wash fastness of colors during manufacturingthat may address dye transfer issues in the subsequent use of thetextile and care of the fabric item made from the dyed textile. Forexample, additional washes and rinses can be included in the dyeingprocess by the fabric maker to remove excess or loosely bound dyes fromthe fabric. In addition, certain treating chemistries may be added tothe washes and rinses to facilitate removal of excess or loose dyes fromthe fabric. The dyed fabric can also be treated with a fabric finish tominimize dye bleeding and increase wash fastness. However, the use andquality of the processes used by different manufacturers can varysignificantly. In a residential setting, when a consumer loads a clotheswasher for a laundry cycle, the consumer usually has no way of knowingwhether or not the laundry items have been treated to minimize dyetransfer during a laundry cycle and what the risks of dye transfer are.

In an industrial setting the variables of fabric type, dye, anduniformity of material are known, controlled variables that may be usedto determine what processes to implement to minimize dye bleeding. In aresidential setting, these variables are typically not known and/orcontrollable. A consumer-loaded clothes washer is not a controlledsetting: the load is likely to be mixture of different fabrics and orcolors, with the exact make-up unknown to the washer. A single garmentmay have multiple different fabric types and/or dyes. A consumer maysort the laundry load based on color, but mix different fabric types, orsort the load based on fabric type, but different dyes may be present. Aconsumer is further unlikely to be aware of whether dye transfer is anissue of concern or whether the items of the laundry load have beentreated so as to minimize dye transfer or the quality of suchtreatments. Thus, both the design and implementation of processes andchemistries for minimizing dye transfer in a residential setting facesmany challenges that are not relevant to an industrial setting.

The methods and chemistries described herein are provided forfacilitating laundering of mixed or unsorted loads of laundry, i.e.loads that include multiple dye types and/or fabrics, includingdifferent fiber types, fabric construction and fabric finishes, in adomestic clothes washer and clothes dryer. The methods and chemistriesdescribed herein may be used to inhibit dye transfer from one fabricitem to another fabric item during a laundry cycle such that unsortedloads may be laundered with minimal or no dye transfer between items.Inhibiting dye transfer may include inhibiting partitioning of the dyeaway from the fabric surface and/or inhibiting redistribution of the dyeonto another fabric surface. In addition, the methods and chemistriesdescribed herein may also minimize dye transfer from one fabric item toanother surface which may come into contact with the fabric item. Itwill be understood that unless stated to the contrary, the methods andchemistries described herein may be utilized interchangeably even whennot explicitly described as such.

A brief description of the types of chemistries that may be used tofacilitate inhibiting dye transfer and the more commonly used types ofdyes may be useful here.

As used herein a dye transfer inhibitor or dye transfer inhibiting agentis used to refer to any substance that inhibits dye transfer. The twomain groups of dye inhibitors include dye absorbers and dye fixatives.Dye fixatives are generally molecules that preferentially partition fromsolution onto a fabric surface. Most fixatives are high molecular weightpolymers having repeating monomers of either a cationic or anionicfunctional group so as to aid in favorable partition onto fabricsthrough favorable electrostatic interactions at multiple regions withina fixative molecule and charged (ionizable) fibers and because largemolecules have entropic restraints which inhibit large molecules fromremaining dissolved in an aqueous solution. Dye fixatives may interactwith the fabric surface and form a polymeric film or layer that inhibitsdyes from partitioning away from the fabric surface into solution.

Dye absorbers are generally molecules that preferentially interact withdye molecules either through electrostatic interactions or hydrophobicforces (e.g. micelle formation) to attract dye molecules and suspend thedye molecules in aqueous solution, thus inhibiting transfer of the dyemolecules to another fabric surface. Because most ionic dyes are anionicin nature, dye absorbers that work through electrostatic interactionsare designed to be cationic in nature in their active state—typicallymolecules comprising quaternary or polyamine groups or aromatic pyridinegroups. Typically these cationic polymers are smaller in molecular sizecompared to dye fixatives to allow them to remain suspended in solution.In addition, surfactants above the critical micelle concentration (CMC)may self-assemble into a micelle structure having a hydrophobic corewhich can act as a dye absorber by trapping and suspending dye insolution. While surfactant micelles generally work as dye absorbers forall dye types, they are one of the few dye absorbers that complex andsuspend nonionic disperse dyes. Dye absorbers can also be from the groupof molecules that form host-guest complexes with hydrophobic molecules,such as cyclodextrin, for example. In general, once the dye absorbersinteract with the dye molecules, the dye absorber-dye molecule complexremains suspended in solution. In addition to complexing with dyes insolution, dye absorbers may also preferentially remove loosely held dyesfrom fabric surfaces and keep them suspended in solution.

There are several different types of dyes that are commonly used indyeing clothing and other laundry items that vary depending on the typeof fiber being dyed. Vat and sulfur dyes are non-polar, water insolublepigments with no affinity towards the fabric fiber, and are commonlyused in dyeing jeans and towels. Vatting is a process by which thesolubilized dye enters the cotton and viscose fibers of the fabric andsubsequent oxidation causes the dye to become insoluble in water. Indigois one of the most common vat dyes currently used. Vat dyes may presentthe consumer with several challenges in caring for items dyed with vatdyes. Improper treatment by the textile manufacturer, such as failure toremove excess or free dye or improper oxidation, which may result indyes that are not fixed to the fabric, may lead to dye transfer in theform of run-off or bleeding of the dye during washing or when wetted andmay also result in poor rubbing fastness (i.e. dye may transfer to othersurfaces, such as other clothing, furniture or the consumer that thedyed fabric comes into contact with). In addition, washing of the fabricat high alkalinity may promote removal of dye from the fabric. Sulfurdyes are another example of vat dyes in which the dye is solubilized, inthis example by reduction in sodium sulfide, and subsequent oxidationrenders the sulfur dye insoluble. Sulfur black is an example of commonlyused vat dye. Loose vat dyes would be dyes that are either unoxidized orpresent on the surface of the fabrics. Unoxidized vat dyes are anionicin nature and typically easily partition from cotton fabrics into anaqueous solution based on their small size and polar nature.

Disperse dyes are neutral dyes and are typically used for dyeingpolyester and acetate fabrics. Disperse dyes are slightly water solubledyes that diffuse from solution into the fibers and remainpreferentially dispersed within the fibers due to hydrophobicinteractions between the fibers and the dye. Dispersing agents areutilized to facilitate dispersion of the dye in the dye bath for dyeingthe fabric. In general, and all else being equal, the greater themolecular weight of the disperse dye, the higher the wash or colorfastness of the dye. As used herein, the term wash fastness is adescriptive term that refers to the extent to which a dye is retained bythe fabric during treatment of the dyed fabric in a clothes washer. Forexample, a high degree of wash fastness refers to a dye that isprimarily retained by the fabric and does not bleed or otherwisetransfer during treatment in the clothes washer; a low degree or no washfastness refers to a dye that is not retained by the fabric and bleedsor otherwise transfers during treatment. Typically, only excess orover-dyed fabric presents a dye bleeding challenge during treatment in aclothes washer. In the case of polyester, only excess dye molecules thatare not associated with the fabric fibers present a potential dyebleeding problem because the rest of the dye molecules are locked withinthe polyester matrix of the fabric, at least below the glass transitiontemperature of the polyester. A loose disperse dye is typically a dyethat has not entered the crystalline matrix of the polyester.

Direct dyes are anionic dyes that typically include a sulfonate groupand are used to dye cotton fibers. Direct dyes interact with cottonfibers primarily through cumulative London or van der Waal's dispersionforces and hydrophobic forces. Cotton dyed with direct dyes are oftentreated with post-processing techniques such as treatment with a dyefixative or treatment to remove loosely attached dye to address dyebleeding and wash fastness. The anionic (e.g. sulfonate) group of directdyes has a small cationic counterion (typically sodium) and if dyeexhaustion is not done well, the sodium ion can dissociate from the dyein an aqueous wash solution, resulting in the direct dye beingdeprotonated and hence hydrophilic, which can lead to bleeding in anaqueous wash liquor. In addition, certain types of surfactants mayinterrupt the interaction between the cotton fibers and the dyemolecules, which may lead to an increase in dye bleeding. In addition,because the interaction between direct dyes and cotton is based onnon-permanent, weak molecular interactions, water and mechanical actionmay also increase dye bleeding. Loose direct dyes are typically dyesthat are not exhausted well with NaCl (suggesting there are dissociableNa counter-ions left) or not rinsed off well.

Acid dyes are anionic dyes that include a sulfonate group, similar todirect dyes, but are typically smaller than direct dyes. Acid dyes areusually used to dye nylon, wool and silk fibers, with the negativelycharged sulfonate group of the dye interacting with the positivelycharged amide in the nylon at a low pH where the amide group in nylon isin a protonated form. Typically, nylon is heated above its glasstransition temperature (about 40° C. for Nylon 6.6.) to promotepenetration of the acid dye molecules into the fabric during dyeing. Thenylon is cooled at the end of the dyeing process to lock the dyes withinthe nylon. Even though the interaction between the dye and the fiber isan electrostatic interaction, the crystalline nylon matrix may preventdye bleeding of adhered dye molecules, even during a subsequent increasein pH (e.g. during laundering). However, there is the potential forover-dyeing of the nylon after the cationic nylon fiber sites areexhausted. In addition, dyed nylon may have lower wash fastness in thepresence of certain surfactants, such as a linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS), which has a similar sulfonate group to the dyemolecules, and is more surface active than the acid dye and some othertypes of surfactants and thus may have a greater potential to displaceloose dyes from the nylon surface. A loose acid dye is typically a dyethat has not entered the crystalline matrix of the nylon.

Reactive dyes are dyes that covalently bond to fabric fibers throughreactive sites on the fibers, the most common being cotton fibers. Oncethe dye molecule reacts with the cotton fiber, the dye is completelywash fast. However, during the dyeing process, competing reactions mayresult in hydrolysis of the dye molecule reactive group, leaving a dyemolecule that may interact with and be carried by the cotton fibers, butis no longer capable of covalently bonding with the fibers. Failure toadequately remove un-reacted dyes from the cotton fiber matrix mayresult in loose dye molecules that may bleed in a subsequent laundryprocess.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary method for treating a laundry loadaccording to a dye transfer inhibition wash cycle 10 is illustrated.While the methods described herein will be discussed in the context of amixed load of laundry, i.e. an unsorted load of laundry that is notuniform in at least one of fabric type and fabric dye color, it will beunderstood that it is within the scope of the invention for the methodsto also be used with sorted laundry loads. In addition, it will beunderstood that the sequence of steps depicted is for illustrativepurposes only, and is not meant to limit the methods described herein inany way as it is understood that the steps may proceed in a differentlogical order, additional or intervening steps may be included, ordescribed steps may be divided into multiple steps, without detractingfrom the invention. Furthermore, while the wash cycle 10 is described inthe context of inhibiting dye transfer, it will be understood thatindividual phases of the wash cycle 10 and the additional methodsdescribed herein may also be used for additional purposes, such asfacilitating distribution of a treating chemistry, for example.

As used herein, the term wash liquid refers to a combination of waterand at least one treating chemistry for providing detergency to liftsoils from the laundry, and may also include other treating chemistries.Laundry soils may refer to dirt, oils, and stains, such as may be causedby food, dyes, beverages, environmental soil, or bodily fluids, forexample. The term rinse liquid or rinse water refers to any liquid usedto rinse away a treating chemistry and may include water with one ormore treating chemistries or just water. The wash liquid may be justwater, in which case it may be referred to as a rinse water or water.The term treating liquid is a generic term that refers to a combinationof water and at least one treating chemistry, which may refer to a washliquid, a rinse liquid or any other liquid having at least one treatingchemistry. The terms recirculated liquid and recirculated water refer towater or a combination of water and one or more treating agents that ispumped from a collection area and re-applied to the laundry, with orwithout the addition of additional water from the household watersupply. As used herein, the term liquid is generic, and includes alltypes of liquid, including without limitation wash liquid, rinse liquid,rinse water, water, recirculated liquid, etc.

Supplying or applying liquid to the laundry may be done in any desiredmanner, such as, without limitation, directly and/or indirectly, and maybe done as pouring, spraying or misting. The supplying of liquid willtypically be into the treating chamber in which the laundry is locatedfrom a water supply or dispenser and/or supplying a water or a treatingchemistry to a collection area from which the liquid is then pumped andeither sprayed or misted into the treating chamber. In addition, whenlaundry is located within a rotatable drum within a tub, supplying orapplying a liquid may also include supplying liquid to the tub androtating the drum such that the laundry within the drum rotates throughthe liquid in the tub.

The dye transfer prevention wash cycle 10 may begin with an optionalpre-wetting phase 12 in which the laundry may be pre-wetted with aliquid. A pre-wash phase 14 may include treating the laundry load with atreating chemistry, an exemplary embodiment of which includes a dyefixative. A main wash phase 16 may include washing the laundry with adetergent-based laundry composition and optionally treating the laundrywith an additional treating chemistry, such as a dye absorber. At rinsephase 18 the laundry load may be treated with a fabric softener andadditional dye absorber followed by an extraction phase at 20, which mayinclude spinning the laundry at high speeds to remove extraneous liquidfrom the laundry load. The wash cycle 10 may also include an optionallaundry load detection phase 22.

The pre-wetting phase 12 may include wetting the laundry load with alimited amount of liquid before applying a treating chemistry at 14. Theliquid may be any treating liquid or water from the water supply withoutany additional substances added to the water. While the pre-wettingphase 12 is generally described in the context of pre-wetting with waterwithout any additional substances added to the water by the clotheswasher, it will be understood that the pre-wetting phase 12 may beimplemented in a similar manner with a treating liquid including atreating chemistry.

The liquid may be applied to the laundry at a predetermined rate for apredetermined period of time while the laundry is being rotated withinthe treating chamber. Liquid may be added during the pre-wetting phase12 to wet the laundry to promote distribution of the treating chemistryin the subsequent pre-wash phase 14 without adding too much liquid suchthat dye transfer occurs. In one example, the liquid supplied during thepre-wetting phase 12 may be just water; in another example, the liquidmay include an emulsion to make the surface of the laundry hydrophobicto facilitate distribution of a subsequently supplied treatingchemistry, such as a dye fixative. In addition, the pre-wetting phase 12may be used in a similar manner to pre-wet the laundry prior to the mainwash phase 16 if there is no pre-wash phase 14. If too much liquid isadded, loose dye may partition into the liquid and may transfer to otheritems in the load as the liquid distributes through the load. If toomuch liquid is added, whether the laundry is saturated or not, theliquid with the loose dyes may also run off of one laundry item toanother and effect dye transfer. Therefore, the pre-wetting phase 12 isnot intended to saturate the laundry or have liquid run off. If the loadis agitated or spun at too high of a speed, such as speeds correspondingto a force of 1 G for that particular drum, dye transfer could occurbetween laundry items.

In addition, while the laundry may be rotated or re-oriented during thepre-wetting phase 12 to distribute the liquid added during thepre-wetting phase 12, too much agitation of the laundry or spinning thelaundry at too high of a speed may facilitate dye transfer betweenlaundry items. While not meant to be limited by any theory, it isbelieved that pre-wetting the laundry with liquid prior to theapplication of the dye fixative may facilitate more uniform distributionof the dye fixative on the fabrics by lowering interfacial drivingforces and reducing a rate of fabric penetration and/or a rate ofattachment of the dye fixative. The pre-wetting may also facilitate thedistribution of additional treating chemistries other than dyefixatives, such as a laundry detergent or fabric softener, for example.

During the pre-wetting phase 12, the dry laundry (i.e. laundry that hasnot been previously wet by the clothes washer during the present cycleof operation) may be wet with liquid while the laundry is rotating at alow speed, passing through a fogging or misting spray nozzle, as will bedescribed in more detail below. Exemplary rotation speeds include 20-60rpm, but preferably may be within the range of 20-30 rpm. As usedherein, the terms mist and fog are interchangeable and refer to aphenomenon in which liquid is sprayed in droplets having a diameter andspray rate at which the droplets will be temporarily suspended in airuntil they collide or condense on a surface, coalesce to form waterdroplets that are too larger to remain suspended in air and fall due togravity, or evaporate to form a vapor. The spray nozzle may beconfigured to spray the mist as fine droplets, on the order of 10 to 100microns in diameter, which become suspended in air and remain suspendedin air as the droplets slowly settle onto the laundry load. The spraynozzle may be configured to use very little liquid, for example, lessthan 500 mL/min., such that the mist that settles on the laundry isabsorbed onto the surface of the laundry that it comes into contactwith, but the volume of liquid is not such that the liquid “runs off”the laundry. The liquid may be sprayed onto the laundry during thepre-wetting phase 12 while the laundry is rotating at a similar speed tothe speed the drum rotates during the pre-wash phase 14 such thatgenerally the same areas of the laundry wet during the pre-wetting phase12 may also be wet during the pre-wash phase 14. It has been found thatwetting the laundry in this manner with very little liquid improves thedistribution of a treating chemistry, such as a dye fixative, that maybe supplied in the subsequent phase, such as the pre-wash phase 14, orthe main wash phase 16 if there is not a pre-wash phase, by a measurableamount.

While the pre-wash phase 14 is described as being subsequent to thepre-wetting phase 12, it will be understood that the pre-wash phase 14may occur contemporaneously with the pre-wetting phase, meaning thepre-wetting phase 12 and the pre-wash phase 14 may occur over the sameperiod of time or at least partially overlap. In one example, thepre-wash phase 14 may be initiated at some delayed time after a start ofthe pre-wetting phase 12 such that the pre-wash phase 14 occurs duringat least a portion of the same time as the pre-wetting phase 12. Inanother example, the pre-wetting phase 12 and pre-wash phase 14 may bealternately repeated two or more times before proceeding to the nextphase in the cycle.

FIG. 2A illustrates a laundry treating appliance in the form of avertical axis clothes washer 50 which may be used to implement a cycleof operation, such as the dye transfer prevention wash cycle 10. Whilethe embodiments of the invention are described in the context of aclothes washer, it will be understood that many of the embodiments areapplicable to any laundry treating appliance, such as a clothes dryer orcombination clothes washer/dryer, for distributing a treating chemistryand inhibiting dye transfer.

The clothes washer 50 includes a cabinet or housing 52 and animperforate tub 54 that defines an interior 56 of the washing machine50. A sump 58 may be in fluid communication with the interior 56 of thetub 54. A perforated wash basket or drum 60 may be located within theinterior 56 and rotatable relative to the tub 54 and may define alaundry treating chamber 62 for receiving a laundry load. Rotation ofthe drum 60 may be considered as rotation of any items located withinthe treating chamber 62. The drum 60 may include a plurality ofperforations or apertures (not shown) such that liquid supplied to thedrum 60 may flow through the perforations to the tub 54. An agitator orclothes mover 64 may be located within the laundry treating chamber 62and rotatable relative to and/or with the drum 60. While the embodimentsof the invention are described in the context of a clothes washer havinga rotatable drum located within a tub, it will be understood that theembodiments may also be used in a clothes washer which has animperforate drum without a tub.

The drum 60 and/or the clothes mover 64 may be driven by an electricalmotor 66, which may or may not include a gear case, operably connectedto the drum 60 and/or the clothes mover 64. The clothes mover 64 may becommonly oscillated or rotated about its axis of rotation during a cycleof operation in order to provide movement to the fabric load containedwithin the laundry treating chamber 62. The drum 60 may be rotated athigh speed to centrifugally extract liquid from the fabric load and todischarge it from the drum 60. The top of the housing 52 may include aselectively openable lid 68 to provide access into the laundry treatingchamber 62 through an open top of the drum 60.

Still referring to FIG. 2A, a spraying system 70 may be provided tospray liquid, such as water or a combination of water and one or moretreating chemistries into the open top of the drum 60 and onto laundryplaced within the laundry treating chamber 62. Non-limiting examples oftreating chemistries that may be dispensed by the dispensing systemduring a cycle of operation include one or more of the following: water,surfactants, detergents, enzymes, fragrances, stiffness/sizing agents,wrinkle releasers/reducers, softeners, antistatic or electrostaticagents, stain repellants, water repellants, energy reduction/extractionaids, antibacterial agents, medicinal agents, vitamins, moisturizers,shrinkage inhibitors, dye fixatives, dye absorbers, bleaches andcombinations thereof.

The spraying system 70 may be coupled with a treating chemistrydispensing system (not shown) to supply the treating chemistry alone ormixed with water from the water supply 72 to the laundry. The dispensingsystem may include a dispenser which may be a single use dispenser, abulk dispenser or a combination of a single and bulk dispenser.Non-limiting examples of suitable dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 8,196,441 to Hendrickson et al., issued Jun. 12, 2012, entitled“Household Cleaning Appliance with a Dispensing System Operable Betweena Single Use Dispensing System and a Bulk Dispensing System,” U.S. Pat.No. 8,388,695 to Hendrickson et al., issued Mar. 5, 2013, entitled“Apparatus and Method for Controlling Laundering Cycle by Sensing WashAid Concentration,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,328 to Hendrickson et al.,issued Mar. 19, 2013, entitled “Apparatus and Method for ControllingConcentration of Wash Aid in Wash Liquid,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000581 toDoyle et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Water Flow Paths in aHousehold Cleaning Appliance with Single Use and Bulk Dispensing,” U.S.Pub. No. 2010/0000264 to Luckman et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled“Method for Converting a Household Cleaning Appliance with a Non-BulkDispensing System to a Household Cleaning Appliance with a BulkDispensing System,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,544 to Hendrickson, issued Mar.19, 2013, entitled “Household Cleaning Appliance with a Single WaterFlow Path for Both Non-Bulk and Bulk Dispensing,” and U.S. Pat. No.8,438,881, issued May 14, 2013, entitled “Method and Apparatus forDispensing Treating Chemistry in a Laundry Treating Appliance,” whichare herein incorporated by reference in full.

The dispensing system may also include a system for determininginformation related to the treating chemistry supplied to the dispensingsystem and communicating the information with the controller 82. In oneexample, information related to the treating chemistry may be determineddirectly using one or more sensors, non-limiting examples of whichinclude a chemical sensor, a pH sensor, or a UV/VIS absorbance orfluorescence sensor. In another example, information related to thetreating chemistry may be carried by a container storing the treatingchemistry that may be communicated wirelessly with the clothes washercontroller 82 (e.g. through an RFID system) or through a hard-wireconnection. In another example, the clothes washer may include anoptical-based communication system, such as a bar code reader and barcode for communicating information related to the treating chemistry.Non-limiting examples of information related to the treating chemistrythat may be supplied to the controller 82 include an identity orcharacteristic of the treating chemistry or one or more components ofthe treating chemistry; dosage information, such as concentration oramount; dispensing information, such as an amount, concentration, timeto dispense, or a number of times to dispense; and cycle usageinformation, such as what cycle, phase or stage to dispense the treatingchemistry. In yet another example, the user may enter informationrelated to the treating chemistry using the user interface 84. The exactmanner by which information related to the treating chemistry suppliedto the dispensing system is provided to the controller 82 is not germaneto the embodiments of the invention.

The spraying system 70 may be configured to supply water directly from ahousehold water supply 72 and/or from the tub 54 and spray it onto thelaundry through a sprayer 74. The spraying system 70 may also beconfigured to recirculate wash water from the tub 54, including the sump58, and spray it onto the laundry. The spraying system 70 may alsoinclude additional sprayers and other components to supply liquid to oneor more additional locations, such as a portion of the interior 56between the drum 60 and the tub 54, an exterior surface of the drum 56,an interior surface of the drum 56 and an internal surface of the tub54. The nature of the spraying system is not germane to the invention,and thus any suitable spraying system may be used with the laundrytreating appliance 50.

A pump 76 may be housed below the tub 54. The pump 76 may have an inletfluidly coupled to the sump 58 and an outlet configured to fluidlycouple to either or both a household drain 78 or a recirculation conduit80. In this configuration, the pump 76 may be used to drain orrecirculate liquid in the sump 58, which is initially sprayed into thetreating chamber 62, flows through the drum 60, and then into the sump58. Alternatively, two separate pumps may be used instead of the singlepump as previously described.

The washing machine 50 also includes a control system for controllingthe operation of the washing machine 50 to implement one or more cyclesof operation. The control system may include a controller 82 locatedwithin the cabinet 52 and a user interface 84 that is operably coupledwith the controller 82. The user interface 82 may include one or moreknobs, dials, switches, displays, touch screens and the like forcommunicating with the user, such as to receive input and provideoutput. The user may enter different types of information including,without limitation, cycle selection and cycle parameters, such as cycleoptions.

The controller 82 may include the machine controller and any additionalcontrollers provided for controlling any of the components of thewashing machine 50. For example, the controller 82 may include themachine controller and a motor controller. Many known types ofcontrollers may be used for the controller 82. The specific type ofcontroller is not germane to the invention. It is contemplated that thecontroller 82 is a microprocessor-based controller that implementscontrol software and sends/receives one or more electrical signalsto/from each of the various working components to effect the controlsoftware. As an example, proportional control (P), proportional integralcontrol (PI), and proportional derivative control (PD), or a combinationthereof, a proportional integral derivative control (PID control), maybe used to control the various components.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 82 may be provided with amemory 96 and a central processing unit (CPU) 98. The memory 96 may beused for storing the control software that is executed by the CPU 98 incompleting a cycle of operation using the washing machine 50 and anyadditional software. Examples, without limitation, of cycles ofoperation include: wash, heavy duty wash, delicate wash, quick wash,pre-wash, refresh, rinse only, timed wash and any of the cycles ofoperation described herein. The memory 96 may also be used to storeinformation, such as a database or table, and to store data receivedfrom one or more components of the washing machine 50 that may becommunicably coupled with the controller 82. The database or table maybe used to store the various operating parameters for the one or morecycles of operation, including factory default values for the operatingparameters and any adjustments to them by the control system or by userinput.

The controller 82 may be operably coupled with one or more components ofthe washing machine 50 for communicating with and controlling theoperation of the component to complete a cycle of operation. Forexample, the controller 82 may be operably coupled with the motor 66,the pump 76, the sprayer 74, and any other additional components thatmay be present such as a steam generator, a treating chemistrydispenser, and a sump heater (not shown) to control the operation ofthese and other components to implement one or more of the cycles ofoperation.

The controller 82 may also be coupled with one or more sensors 99provided in one or more of the systems of the washing machine 50 toreceive input from the sensors 99, which are known in the art and notshown for simplicity. Non-limiting examples of sensors 99 that may becommunicably coupled with the controller 82 include: a treating chambertemperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemicalsensor, an optical sensor, a conductivity sensor, a turbidity sensor, aposition sensor and a motor torque sensor, which may be used todetermine a variety of system, laundry and liquid characteristics, suchas laundry load inertia or mass.

Still referring to FIG. 2A, the sprayer 74 may be controlled during thepre-wetting phase 12 to spray a mist or fog of water or other treatingchemistry into the treating chamber 62 to wet a load of laundry 86. In avertical axis clothes washer, liquid sprayed into the treating chamber62 will come from above the laundry load 86 through the open top of thedrum 60. During spraying, an exposed, upper surface of the laundry load86 will be contacted first by liquid sprayed from the sprayer 74. Withcontinued spraying from the sprayer 74, liquid may travel through andaround the exposed, upper surface of the load 86 to other surfaces ofthe load 86. The exposed, upper surface of the laundry load 86 may bereferred to as a first strike surface 88 for liquid sprayed from thesprayer 74.

The controller 82 may be configured to determine a dye transfer event.The controller 82 or a communication module located therein or operablycoupled thereto may be configured to output a communication that a dyetransfer event has occurred. For example, such a communication may beoutputted to a dryer. It will be understood that the communication maybe a wireless communication and/or a hard-wired communication.

During the pre-wetting phase 12, the laundry may be rotated while thesprayer 74 sprays water or a mixture of water and a treating chemistryinto the treating chamber 62 to wet the first strike surface 88.Rotating the laundry may include rotating the drum 60 or actuating theclothes mover 64 to move the laundry. It is also within the scope of theinvention for the sprayer 74 to rotate relative to the laundry. Thesprayer 74 may be controlled so as to wet the first strike surface 88without over-wetting the laundry 86 such that the amount of water thattravels from one fabric surface to another is minimized. As describedabove, if too much water is sprayed onto the load 86, loose dye fromfabrics forming the load 86 may partition into the water and maytransfer to other items in the load 86. The sprayer 74 may spray thewater as a mist or fog of fine water droplets configured to be suspendedin the air when sprayed and slowly settle down onto the exposed surfaceof the laundry, i.e. the first strike surface 88, to facilitate coveringall of the first strike surface area 88 while minimizing the volume ofwater used. For example, as described above, the sprayer 74 may beconfigured to spray the mist as fine droplets, on the order of 10 to 100microns in diameter, at a rate less than 500 mL/min., which uses verylittle water, but enough such that the mist that settles on the laundryis absorbed onto the surface of the laundry.

The application of the liquid during the pre-wetting phase 12 as a mistallows the liquid to be supplied to the laundry at a volume, dropletsize and rate such that the liquid may be absorbed onto the laundrysurface without running off the surface. If the liquid is sprayed at alarger volume, droplet size and/or rate, the liquid may reach thelaundry surface at too high a volume and/or rate to be entirely absorbedby the impacted laundry surface and thus some of the liquid may run offthe surface, potentially transferring dye from the impacted laundrysurface to another surface the liquid run-off comes into contact with.

In one example, an amount of liquid supplied to the laundry as a mistduring the pre-wetting phase 12 may be an amount that wets the laundryto a predetermined remaining moisture content (RMC). As used herein, RMCis defined as the ratio of an amount of water in the fabric in additionto the natural regain moisture of the fabric to the amount of fabric.The natural regain moisture of a fabric is based on the natural amountof moisture in the fabric at dry conditions and is considered zero wateror zero RMC. The RMC for the pre-wetting phase may range between 5-40%and in an exemplary embodiment is within the range of 10-20%. It will beunderstood that wetting the laundry to a predetermined RMC does not meanthat all fabrics in the load would have to be wet to the predeterminedRMC. In one example, the clothes washer 50 may determine the load amountand then the sprayer 74 may be controlled by the controller 82 to sprayan amount of liquid based on a predetermined RMC for the determined loadamount. The amount of laundry may be determined according to anysuitable method, including the methods described herein. It will beunderstood that the method by which the amount of laundry is determinedis not germane to the embodiments of the invention.

The drum 60 may also be rotated to facilitate even coverage of the firststrike surface 88 with the mist from the sprayer 74. The drum 60 may berotated at a relatively low speed, for example, 20-60 rpm or less than 1G, for example, to avoid agitating the load 86. In addition tofacilitating dye transfer, agitating the laundry load 86 or spinning thelaundry load 86 at too high of a speed too quickly may cause the loaditems to move relative to one another within the treating chamber 62such that a different fabric surface is exposed, which may result inexposing un-wetted laundry as the first strike surface 88 when atreating chemistry is sprayed onto the load 86 during a subsequentphase. Pre-wetting the first strike surface 86 prior to application ofthe treating chemistry facilitates distribution of the treatingchemistry through the laundry load 86. If the treating chemistry issprayed onto a dry fabric surface, the treating chemistry may notdistribute through the load 86 within a reasonable period of time. Inthe exemplary embodiment of a dye fixative, there is typically anelectrostatic attraction between the dye fixative and the fabricsubstrate which may lead to localized spots of high concentration of dyefixative where the dye fixative first comes into contact with the fabricsurface. Pre-wetting the fabric may slow the formation of electrostaticbonds between the dye fixative and the fabric surface such that the dyefixative may distribute more readily across the fabric surface.

Following the pre-wetting of the first strike surface 88 during thepre-wetting phase 12 and the subsequent wetting of the laundry with atreating chemistry, such as a dye fixative, in the pre-wash phase 14,the laundry may be re-oriented to expose at least a portion of apreviously unexposed surface. Redistribution of one or more of the itemsof the laundry load 86, such as by movement or reorientation of at leastone load item relative to another load item or the drum 60, may resultin a previously unexposed portion of the laundry surface being presentat the first strike surface 88. The addition of at least a portion of apreviously unexposed surface or exchange of at least a portion of apreviously unexposed surface for a recently exposed surface at the firststrike surface 88 may be considered a new exposed surface. As usedherein, a new exposed surface refers to a surface in which at least aportion of the surface is formed from a previously unexposed surface.Exposing a new surface may include rotating the drum 60 to re-orient thelaundry and/or actuating the clothes mover 64.

The pre-wetting phase 12 and pre-wash phase 14 may be repeated one ormore times to expose a new surface, pre-wet the new surface with apre-wetting mist and then treat the pre-wet surface of the laundry witha dye fixative or other treating chemistry to facilitate a uniformdistribution of the treating chemistry on the laundry, while decreasingthe likelihood of dye transfer. It is also within the scope of theinvention for the pre-wetting phase 12 to include spraying a mist onto afirst exposed surface and then re-orienting the laundry to expose apreviously unexposed portion of the laundry and spraying a mist onto thenew expose surface one or more times prior to supplying the treatingchemistry in the pre-wash phase 14.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the dye transfer prevention wash cycle 10 mayinclude an optional load detection phase 22 which may occur prior to oras part of the pre-wetting phase 12. The load detection phase 22 may beused to determine an amount of laundry present in the treating chamber62. The amount of laundry may be qualitative or quantitative and may bedetermined manually based on user input through the user interface 84 orautomatically by the washing machine 50. For example, a qualitativedetermination of the laundry amount may include determining whether thelaundry is a small, medium or large load. A quantitative determinationmay include determining a weight or volume of the laundry within thetreating chamber 62.

The amount of laundry may be determined at 22 according to any suitablemethod for determining the amount of laundry prior to the addition ofliquid to the laundry treating chamber. One example of a suitable methodfor automatically determining the amount of laundry prior to theapplication of liquid may include using a weight sensor coupled with thetub 54. Another example of a suitable method may include rotating thedrum 60 with the motor 66 and using feedback from the motor or one ormore sensors associated with the motor 66 or the drum 60 to determinethe amount of laundry. One example of determining the amount of laundryby rotating the drum 60 with laundry therein is disclosed in U.S. Pub.No. 2011/0247148 to Chanda et al., filed Apr. 12, 2011, entitled“Laundry Treating Appliance with Load Amount Detection,” which is hereinincorporated by reference in full. Additional exemplary methods includeU.S. Pub. U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,798 to Ashrafzadeh et al., issued May 15,2012, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Determining Laundry Load”, U.S.Pat. No. 8,381,569 to Lilie et al., issued Feb. 26, 2013, entitled“Method and Apparatus for Determining Load Amount in a Laundry TreatingAppliance,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,166,590 to Ashrafzadeh et al., issued May 1,2012, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Determining Laundry Load Size,”and U.S. Pat. No. 8,215,134 to Ashrafzadeh et al., issued Jul. 10, 2012,entitled “Method and Apparatus for Determining Laundry Load Size,” allof which are herein incorporated by reference in full. As discussedabove, the addition of too much liquid to the laundry 86 may facilitatedye transfer between laundry items and thus methods for determining theamount of laundry that do not require the addition of saturating amountsof liquid to the laundry may be preferred.

Referring now to FIG. 2B rotation of the drum 60 during the laundry loaddetection phase 22 may shift the laundry load 86 within the treatingchamber 56 such that the laundry spreads out and forms a depression ringaround the clothes mover 64. In general, the movement of the load itemsrelative to each other is minimal during the shift of the load tominimize dye transfer that may occur from frictional contact betweenload items during movement of one load item relative to another. Theshifting of the laundry to form the depression ring may increase thesurface area of the first strike surface 88 that is exposed during thepre-wetting phase 12 and the pre-wash phase 14. In one example, thepre-wetting phase 12 may coincide with the laundry load detection phase22 such that the first strike surface 88 is wetted as the laundry load86 shifts about the clothes mover 64. In general, laundry items that areplaced into the drum 60 by a user prior to the start of a cycle ofoperation are typically piled on top of each other within the treatingchamber 62 around and possibly over the clothes mover 64, providing agenerally “flat” first strike surface 88, such as is illustrated in FIG.2A. As the drum 60 is rotated at low speed, the laundry 68 may move fromthe generally flat distribution illustrated in FIG. 2A to the depressionring illustrated in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 100 for supplying a treating chemistry whiledetermining the amount of laundry that may be used with the wash cycle10 or with any other suitable method, including those further describedherein. While the method 100 is described in the context of combiningthe load detection phase 22 and the pre-wetting phase 12 of wash cycle10, the method 100 may also be used in a similar manner to combine theload detection phase 22 with the pre-wash phase 14. Inertia-based loadamount determination methods, such as that described in U.S. Pub. No.2011/0247148 to Chanda et al., for example, typically use motor torqueinformation when the drum is rotated according to a predetermined drumrotation profile to determine the inertia of the system and use thedetermined inertia of the system to estimate the amount of laundry inthe drum. These types of inertia-based methods generally utilizeinformation already available, i.e. the motor torque, without the use ofadditional sensors, such as weight sensors, for example.

The method 100 utilizes the shifting of the laundry during the rotationof the drum according to an inertia-based load amount determination tofacilitate distributing a treating chemistry onto the laundry, such aswater during the pre-wetting phase 12 or a dye fixative during thepre-wash phase 14 of wash cycle 10, for example. The method 100 beginswith assuming that a user has loaded the laundry into the treatingchamber and selected a cycle of operation. At 102, a treating liquid maybe supplied to the laundry in the treating chamber. This may includespraying the treating liquid into the treating chamber, such as throughthe sprayer 74 of clothes washer 50, for example.

At 104, the drum may be rotated according to the load amountdetermination method. Rotation of the drum may coincide with thesupplying of the treating liquid at 102. The drum 60 may begin to rotatesimultaneously with the supply of the treating liquid at 102 or at somedelayed time after the start of the supplying of the treating liquid.The treating liquid may be supplied continuously or intermittently asthe drum 60 is rotated during the load determination at 106. At 108, theload amount determination may end and the supply of treating liquid tothe laundry may end at 110. The load amount determination 108 and supplyof treating liquid at 110 may end simultaneously or sequentially.

As described with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B above, as the drum 60 isrotated, the laundry 86 may shift within the treating chamber 62,increasing the first strike surface 88. Supplying the treating liquid asthe laundry 86 shifts from the initial orientation shown in FIG. 2A tothe orientation the laundry 86 assumes after rotating, illustrated inFIG. 2B, may increase the surface area of the laundry that is contactedby the treating liquid as the treating liquid may contact the laundrysurface exposed in the initial orientation, the orientation afterrotating, and the transitional orientations in between. In addition,performing the load amount determination and the supply of the treatingliquid coincidentally rather than sequentially can save cycle time.Furthermore, if the treating liquid is not added until after the loaddetermination, the initially exposed fabric surfaces and thetransitional fabric surfaces may not be covered by the treating liquid.

The amount of treating liquid supplied at 102 and 106 may be a small,known amount of liquid that may facilitate the load amount determinationand also facilitate uniform distribution of the liquid onto the laundry.The amount of treating liquid may be far below an amount that wouldsaturate the laundry load but is sufficient to just dampen the laundry,while minimizing the potential for liquid run-off from the laundry. Forexample, if the load amount has been determined, the amount of treatingliquid may be between 5-10% of the load amount. Alternatively, theamount of treating liquid may be between 50-150 mL, which is likely tobe sufficient to provide a layer of liquid on the exposed fabricsurface, irrespective of load size. The treating liquid may further beapplied as a mist, as described above, to facilitate a more uniformdistribution of the liquid. While not meant to be limited by any theory,it is believed that the addition of a small volume of relativelyuniformly applied liquid may provide additional mass to the laundrywhich increases the forces compressing the laundry around the peripheryof the drum and provides for a more predictable distribution of thelaundry within the drum, which may improve the accuracy of theinertia-based load amount determination. In addition, as described abovewith respect to the pre-wetting phase 12 of the cycle 10, pre-wettingthe laundry with a small amount of a fine mist of water withoutsaturating the laundry may facilitate distribution of a subsequentlyapplied treating chemistry while minimizing the dye transfer that mayoccur if too much liquid is added.

Following the end of the supply of the treating liquid at 110, anoptional extraction phase may be implemented in which the laundry isspun at a predetermined rate for a predetermined period of time toprovide a relatively consistent liquid-to-cloth ratio to facilitate theload estimation. Alternatively, the additional mass provided by theadded liquid may be subtracted from the load amount estimation if theeffect of the additional mass is deemed significant enough to haveimpacted the outcome of the load amount estimation.

As discussed above, it is within the scope of the invention for thelaundry load detection phase 22 and the pre-wetting phase 12 to beperformed sequentially or simultaneously. Because the pre-wetting phase12 does not saturate the laundry load 86 to a substantial degree, theamount of water added during the pre-wetting phase 12 is generally notconsidered to significantly effect the load amount determination. Thus,the laundry load detection phase 22 and the pre-wetting phase 12 mayoverlap to save cycle time without negatively effecting the laundry loaddetection. While the method 100 is described in the context ofdetermining the amount of laundry while supplying a treating chemistry,it will be understood that the rotation of the drum 104 may beimplemented without determining an amount of laundry. In addition, it isalso within the scope of the invention for the treating chemistry toonly be supplied to the shifted laundry at the end of the load amountdetermination.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method 120 for applying a treating chemistryis illustrated. While the method 120 is described in the context ofapplying a dye fixative, it will be understood that the method 120 mayalso be used to apply other treating chemistries. The dye fixativeapplication method 120 may be used as part of the cycle 10 to apply adye fixative during the pre-wash phase 14, or as a separate cycle orpart of another cycle. The method 120 may begin at 122 with forming adye fixative solution. The dye fixative solution may include one or moredye fixatives and optional adjuncts, such as a solvent (e.g. water) anda viscosity modifier, for example. Forming the dye fixative solution mayinclude providing a ready-to-use dye fixative solution to a dispenserfluidly coupled with the sprayer 74. Alternatively, the dye fixativesolution may be mixed with water or other treating liquid in a suitablemixing chamber or in the sump 58 prior to providing the dye fixativesolution to the sprayer 74. At 124, a first portion of the dye fixativesolution formed at 122 may be sprayed onto the first strike surface 88that has been pre-wetted with water as described above with respect tothe pre-wetting phase 12 of the cycle 10. The dye fixative may beapplied at 124 while the drum 60 is rotating at speeds where theresulting centrifugal force acting on the laundry is below 1 G, which,for short-hand reference, will be referred to as rotating at a speedless than 1G or similar language. Similarly, rotating at a speed wherethe resulting centrifugal force acting on the laundry is above 1 G, willbe referred to as rotating at a speed above 1G or similar language.

Following application of the first portion of the dye fixative solutionto the first strike surface 88 at 124, the remainder of the dye fixativesolution may continue to be supplied into the treating chamber 62through the sprayer 74 as the drum 60 continues to rotate to distributethe dye fixative through the laundry load 86. In one example, the drum60 may be rotated at increasing speeds below 1 G from 20-60 rpm tofacilitate downward flow of the dye fixative through the laundry load86. The drum 60 may then be spun at increasing speeds above 1 G from50-120 rpm, for example, to facilitate flow of the dye fixativelaterally through the laundry load 86. All exemplary rotational speedsprovided in this disclosure are for a basket or drum having a radius of11 inches. As centrifugal force is a function of the radial distancefrom the axis of rotation to the center of gravity of the laundry item,speed alone is insufficient to define the centrifugal force. It will beunderstood that the rotational speeds may be adjusted based on theradius of the basket or drum without deviating from the scope of theinvention.

While not meant to be limited by any theory, it has been observed thatas the laundry is wetted with water or a treating chemistry, flowchannels form within the laundry as the liquid distributes through theload. Once the flow channels are established, it may become difficult towet regions of the laundry outside these established flow channels.Typically, the limitations of the flow channels may be overcome byrepositioning the laundry, such as by agitation, for example, in whichthe laundry items move relative to one another. However, in cases wheredye transfer is of concern, the mechanical action from inducing relativemovement between laundry items of the load at this stage may facilitatedye transfer. Rotating the laundry at speeds below 1 G to initiallydistribute the dye fixative and then increasing the speed above 1 G mayfacilitate movement of the flow channels such that the distribution ofthe treating chemistry is increased while minimizing dye transfer due tofrictional interactions between items.

FIGS. 6A-B are a schematic representation of the change in flow channelsthrough the load as the drum speed increases from below 1 G to above 1G. Referring now to FIG. 6A, as the load is wetted with the dye fixativewhile the drum 60 is rotating at speeds below 1 G, gravity is theprimary force acting on the liquid distributing through the laundry, sothe flow channels may generally be considered to be primarily vertical,as illustrated by arrows 91. As the spin speed is slowly increased,centrifugal forces begin to play more of a role and the flow channelsmay begin to vary from vertical, as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Asillustrated in FIG. 6C, as the spin speed increases to 1 G, the speed atwhich the centrifugal acceleration at the outermost extent of the drum60 is equal to the acceleration due to gravity, the centrifugal forcesat the periphery of the drum 60 are equal to gravity and the flowchannels may vary from the initial vertical channels at the center ofthe drum to nearly 45 degrees at the periphery of the drum 60.

As the drum 60 is rotated above 1 G, the centrifugal force begins toexceed the force due to gravity and the flow channels may begin toapproach a more horizontal orientation. In addition, at speeds above 1G, the laundry begins to satellize. This movement of the laundry load issmall enough such that dye transfer due to frictional contact is notsignificant, but still provides a sufficient degree of shifting of theload to aid in dispersion of the dye fixative. Thus, by varying the spinspeed from below 1 G to above 1 G while spraying the dye fixative ontothe laundry, a multitude of flow channels and load orientations may beproduced which may facilitate distribution of the dye fixative within ashortened amount of time.

Still referring to FIGS. 6A-B, during the application of the dyefixative, some amount of liquid 93 may collect within the tub 54. As therotation speed of the drum 60 is increased, the liquid 93 may travel upthe sidewall of the tub 54 to such an extent that the liquid 93 may comeinto contact with an outer edge of the drum 60 where the drum sidewallmeets the drum bottom wall, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and B. The liquid93 that comes into contact with the drum 60 may then be absorbed throughthe drum perforations (not shown) by laundry inside the treating chamber62 adjacent the outer edge of the drum 60. This may facilitatedistributing the dye fixative to the laundry located near the outer edgeof the drum 60.

In addition to rotating the drum 60 at increasing spin speeds duringspraying of the dye fixative, the rotation of the drum 60 may includeperiods where the speed of the drum 60 is held constant while the dyefixative continues to be sprayed. At specific speeds, centrifugal forcescombined with a drum 60 which is configured to restrict the flow ofliquid out of the drum 60, results in some amount of liquid being heldnear the outer edge of the drum 60 such that a paraboloid of sorts forms(not shown). The shape of the paraboloid depends on the speed at whichthe drum 60 is rotating and the configuration of the drum apertureswhich restrict the liquid flow. Forming the paraboloid in this mannermay allow portions of the load at the outer edges of the drum 60 wherethe sidewall and bottom wall meet, which are not directly impacted bydye fixative being sprayed into the treating chamber 62 by the sprayer74, to be wet with the dye fixative. While the wetting methods have beendescribed in the context of wetting the laundry load with a dyefixative, it will be understood that the methods may also be used in asimilar manner to wet the laundry with any other type of treatingchemistry or to wet the laundry with water.

The amount of dye fixative or any treating chemistry applied during thepre-wash phase 14 may be automatically or manually determined based onthe amount of laundry and/or a volume of water that will be applied tothe laundry during the cycle of operation. When the pre-wash phase 14supplies a treating chemistry, it may also be considered a treatingchemistry phase, and in the specific embodiment of a dye fixative, a dyefixative phase. The amount of laundry may be determined automaticallyusing one or more sensors or according to a load detection method, asdiscussed above. Alternatively, the user may indicate the amount of thelaundry through the user interface by selecting an amount of laundry(e.g. small, medium, large, extra-large, or by inputting a mass orweight) or based on the cycle selection. The amount of treatingchemistry supplied to a mixing chamber or to the sump 58 may be based onthe amount of water to be applied to the laundry, which may be based onthe amount of laundry and/or the selected cycle of operation.Alternatively, the amount of treating chemistry may be defined by anamount provided to the dispensing system by the user.

In one example, the amount of a dye fixative supplied is based on theload size and is within a predetermined range that is dependent on thetype of dye fixative being used. For the exemplary dye fixative SeraFast CTE, the predetermined range may be determined to be between 5grams per kilogram of laundry and 10 grams per kilogram of laundry. Forsome dye fixatives, too much dye fixative may have undesiredconsequences and therefore maintaining the amount of dye fixative belowa certain amount based on the amount of laundry may be beneficial. Forexample, if the concentration of dye fixative is too high, the dyefixative may not entirely partition onto the laundry fabric, but rathermay preferentially remain in aqueous solution, which may draw dye fromthe fabric into the aqueous solution.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an additional or alternative method 150 forfacilitating distribution of a treating chemistry, such as a dyefixative, fabric softener, detergent, fabric finish or stain repellant,for example, onto the laundry is illustrated. The method 150 may be usedwith any method for distributing a treating chemistry, including themethods described herein, such as the cycle 10 of FIG. 1 or the method120 of FIG. 5, for example. By way of non-limiting introduction, afabric surface within a bulk liquid may be considered to have a boundarylayer of fluid flow on the fabric surface. When a substance is added tothe bulk liquid, initially the concentration of the substance at theboundary layer for a homogenous liquid is the same as the bulkconcentration, c_(b). The amount of substance and the time it takes forthe substance to diffuse through the boundary layer depends on c_(b) andthe thickness of the boundary layer. A lower initial concentration and athicker boundary layer may result in a slower rate of diffusion to thefabric surface.

The method 150 begins with assuming that a user has loaded laundry itemsinto the treating chamber and initiated a cycle of operation. At 152 thethickness of the boundary layer of the fabric may be increased. At 154 aliquid including a treating chemistry may be supplied to the treatingchamber for distribution onto the fabric. The supply of the treatingchemistry may occur simultaneously with the increase in the thickness ofthe boundary layer or at some delayed time after the start of theincrease in the thickness of the boundary layer at 154. After apredetermined period of time, the boundary layer may be decreased at 156to facilitate diffusion of the treating chemistry through the boundarylayer for interaction with the surface of the fabric.

The thickness of the boundary layer may be increased at 152 by having alow velocity of liquid flow through the fabric items, such as by havinga slow drum rotation speed which causes little to no relative movementof the fabric items. Exemplary drum speeds are in the range of 20-120rpm. An additional or alternative manner by which the thickness of theboundary layer may be increased includes maintaining the temperature ofthe liquid at a predetermined temperature to increase the viscosity ofthe liquid relative to the viscosity of the liquid in the subsequentboundary layer thickness decreasing phase 156. Additionally, oralternatively, less liquid may be applied to the load to decrease normalforces and decrease the pressure. For example, in a typical cycle for a100% cotton load, the cycle may be configured to saturate the load toabout 200% of the load weight. According to the method 150, the amountof liquid applied may be such that the load is saturated to a lessdegree than the load would typically be, such as just until saturation.

Decreasing the thickness of the boundary layer at 156 may be done at apredetermined time after the start of the supply of the treatingchemistry 154 to provide time for the treating chemistry to distributethrough the load, and may include rotating the drum at higher spinspeeds, such as speeds greater than 120 rpm or speeds above 1 G, thanused during the increasing thickness phase 152 or agitating/tumbling thelaundry. In one example the drum may be rotated at speeds equal to orgreater than 280 rpm. Alternatively or additionally, the viscosity ofthe liquid may be increased by increasing the temperature of the liquidand/or adding substances which may reduce viscosity and/or increaselubrication, such as a polyox, for example. Another example includesadding more liquid to the load to increase the pressure drop byincreasing the normal force. The normal force can be increased by havingmore water in the fabrics than normal or, in the case of a horizontalaxis washing machine, by increasing the drum speed so that the releaseof the fabric as it is rotated by the drum is at a greater height abovethe drum axis than is typically used.

In an exemplary embodiment in which a cationic dye fixative is appliedto a cotton fabric, the positively charged dye fixative may beelectrostatically attracted to the negatively charged cotton fabric suchthat the dye fixative may bond to the fabric surface before dispersingover the fabric surface, leading to localized spots of highconcentrations of dye fixative. The thickness of the fabric surfaceboundary layer may be increased prior to supplying the treatingchemistry to slow the rate at which the dye fixative reaches the cottonfabric and electrostatically bonds thereto, which may provide more timefor the dye fixative to spread out and cover a larger surface area ofthe fabric surface. After a predetermined period of time, the boundarylayer thickness can be decreased or collapsed to facilitate the dyefixative reaching the surface and electrostatically bonding to thecotton.

An alternative or additional method for facilitating distribution of thedye fixative on the laundry includes increasing the hydrophobicity ofthe fabric surface. Introduction of water to the fabric surface mayinterrupt the forces, such as Van der Waal's forces, for example,between the fabric surface and loosely held dyes at the fabric surface.The water may form hydrogen bonds with the fabric surface and/or dye andpromote partitioning of hydrophobic dyes away from the fabric surface tothe air-water interface. Increasing the hydrophobicity of the fabricsurface may reduce this partitioning of the dye away from the fabricsurface in the presence of water. The hydrophobicity of the fabricsurface may be increased by applying an oil to the fabric surface, suchas a natural fatty acid-based oil, for example. The oil may be appliedto the fabric surface through spraying, misting or vapor deposition,and/or may be supplied as an emulsion. The oil on the fabric surface mayfacilitate the interaction between the fabric and the dye to retain thedye at the fabric surface, even as water or a water-based treatingchemistry, such as a dye fixative, for example, is supplied to thelaundry. The oil may then be removed, such as during a subsequent washphase with a surfactant, for example.

In the context of the wash cycle 10, the oil may be supplied to thelaundry prior to the pre-wash phase 14 to inhibit dye transfer that mayoccur as the dye fixative solution is being supplied to the laundry. Inone example, this may result in the ability to apply a greater volume ofthe dye fixative solution to the laundry to facilitate distribution ofthe dye fixative solution without promoting excessive dye transfer. Inanother example, the application of the oil to the fabric surface maynegate the use of the pre-wetting phase 12.

Another method by which distribution of the dye fixative on the fabricsurface may be facilitated includes preparing a delayed ortrigger-released dye fixative. The dye fixative may be encapsulatedinside a colloidosome microcapsule to prevent the dye fixative fromprematurely adhering to the fabric surface and collecting in localizedspots on the fabric surface. The encapsulated dye fixative may be formedby preparing a water water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsion inwhich the dye fixative is encapsulated in an oil shell which is thendispersed in an aqueous phase.

The oil shell may be formed from any suitable oil, and in an exemplaryembodiment, is formed from a natural oil, such as sunflower oil, soybeanoil or a vegetable oil, for example. Formation of the encapsulated dyefixative double emulsion generally includes mixing an oil phase and anaqueous phase in which the dye fixative is dispersed, emulsifying theoil and aqueous phase, stabilizing the oil shell, and transferring andre-dispersing the encapsulated dye fixative in an aqueous phase. Theexact procedure by which the double emulsion may be formed depends onthe oil used in the oil phase, the dye fixative, and the composition ofthe aqueous phase.

An exemplary double emulsion for encapsulating a dye fixative, such as acationic methylene guanidine based dye fixative (commercially availableunder the trade name Retayne™), in a soybean oil shell is illustrativeof the process and product envisioned. It will be understood that theprocess may be used in a similar manner to encapsulate otherwater-soluble dye fixatives in different oil shells and that additionalor different steps and material may be included to obtained the desiredencapsulated dye fixative.

The emulsification process begins with dispersing the dye fixative in anaqueous phase, which may include only water. An oil-in-water emulsionmay be formed by mixing a desired oil phase, soybean oil for example,with the aqueous phase in which the dye fixative is already dispersed inthe presence of an emulsifier. A non-limiting example of a suitableemulsifier includes a nonionic surfactant, such as polyethylene glycolsorbitan monostearate (commercially available as TWEEN® 60 fromSigma-Aldrich®). An exemplary ratio for the oil and aqueous phases is50%/50% soybean oil/aqueous phase. The mixture may be stirred andoptionally heated, e.g. 70° C., to promote the emulsification process.The oil-in-water mixture may then be introduced into an electrolytesolution for further mixing and homogenization, using anultra-sonicator, for example, to form the desired emulsion. Non-limitingexamples of emulsification machines which may be used to form theoil-in-water emulsion include a stifling vessel, a colloid mill, atoothed disc dispersing machine or a high-pressure homogenizer. Theresultant oil encapsulated dye fixative comprises a dye fixativedispersed in water encapsulated within an oil shell which is stabilizedby the nonionic surfactant.

The oil encapsulated dye fixative may then be transferred into anaqueous phase and re-dispersed to form the double emulsion. The oilshell may be stabilized by the further addition of a nonionicsurfactant, such as polyethylene glycol sorbitan monostearate, withadditional sonication. The stability and size of the oil encapsulateddye fixative droplet may be varied depending on the emulsificationprocess machines and materials.

In another example, the colloidosome microcapsule may be formed byself-assembly or directed assembly of responsive materials, such as pHresponsive materials, using co-polymer-stabilized water/organicsolvent/water (W/O/W) double emulsions. A water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W)emulsion may be generated by self-assembling pH responsive materials atthe liquid-liquid interfaces, for example, and removing the middle phasethrough evaporation. The outer shell may be hydrophobic and dissolve inwater at a predetermined pH threshold. The pH of the dye fixativesolution applied to the laundry may be kept outside the predetermined pHthreshold until such time as it is desired to release the dye fixativeto facilitate distribution of the dye fixative across a larger area ofthe fabric surface and decrease localized or spotty distribution of thedye fixative.

For example, if the outer shell dissolves at a pH>7, the treating liquidmay be kept at a pH<7, such as by adding citric acid, for example.Increasing the pH above 7 releases the dye fixative from thecolloidosome microcapsule. The pH may be increased above 7 at somepredetermined delayed time following the beginning of the application ofthe treating liquid with the encapsulated dye fixative. Delaying therelease of the dye fixative may facilitate more uniform application ofthe dye fixative through the laundry load. Because the dye fixative isattracted to the fabric surface, the dye fixative may have a tendency toconcentrate at the first surface the dye fixative comes into contact,limiting its distribution. Encapsulating the dye fixative in atriggered-release microcapsule may allow for more time to distribute thedye fixative throughout the load before the dye fixative becomesstrongly associated with the fabric surface. In another example, the oilshell may be broken or de-stabilized to release the dye fixative withinby application of mechanical energy, such as may occur when laundry towhich the encapsulated dye fixative has been applied is agitated, orbased on changes in pressure or temperature. In yet another example, anadditional material may be supplied to the laundry to de-stabilize theoil shell, triggering release of the dye fixative from within the oilshell.

Any of the water-soluble dye fixatives described herein may beencapsulated using the double emulsion process, non-limiting examples ofwhich include cationic polymers containing functional groups selectedfrom the group consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines andtheir salts, polyacrylamide or polyethyleneimine based polymers,polymers containing a reactive vinyl, hydroxyl or epoxy functionalgroup, poly diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAAC),poly(acrylamide-co-diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride), cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), or cetyl pyridinium bromide (CPB).

The encapsulated dye fixative may be formed in a dispersing machineassociated with the clothes washer on demand or provided as a preparedchemistry in a treating packet, for example. In one example, a mixtureof the water-in-oil emulsion may be stored in a suitable container andprovided to the consumer for addition to the clothes washer. The clotheswasher may include a dispersing machine or mixing chamber capable ofre-dispersing the water-in-oil emulsion in an aqueous phase to form thedouble emulsion, which may then be supplied to the laundry by theclothes washer during the cycle of operation. In another example, thewater-in-oil emulsion may be mixed within a sump of the clothes washerwith a suitable aqueous phase to form the double emulsion.

Referring again to the wash cycle 10 of FIG. 1, the optionalintermediate phase 24 may be implemented following the pre-wash phase 14and prior to the main wash phase 16 to prepare the laundry for treatmentduring the main wash phase 16. FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary methodswhich may be used to implement the intermediate wash phase 24. Method200 may include a drain phase 202 in which treating liquid collected inthe sump 58 is drained from the treating chamber 62 and an optionalextraction phase 204 in which the laundry is rotated to facilitate theextraction of liquid from the laundry, which may subsequently be drainedfrom the sump 58.

Method 206 may include the optional extraction phase 204 and drain phase202 of method 200 and further include supplying the drained treatingliquid to a filter to filter dye fixative from the treating liquid at208. The filtered treating liquid may then be re-applied to the laundryin the treating chamber 62 at 210. The applied filtered treating liquidmay then be drained at 202 following the optional extraction phase at204. The drain 202, optional extraction 204, filtering at 208 andapplication of filtered liquid at 210 may be repeated a predeterminednumber of times or based on output from a sensor system indicative of anamount of dye fixative in the treating liquid drained at 202. The sensorsystem may include any suitable system for determining an amount of dyefixative in the treating liquid, non-limiting examples of which includeoptical sensor systems which may be used to perform UV/Visabsorbance/fluorescence spectroscopy or a conductivity sensor. Forexample, a UV/Vis absorbance/fluorescence system may provide an outputrepresentative of a sensed spectral absorbance and/or fluorescence ofthe treating liquid. It will also be understood that, as used herein,when referring to absorbance, transmittance, which is related toabsorbance, may be used as an alternative to absorbance or in order todetermine the absorbance.

The method 206 may be repeated multiple times until the output indicatesthat the amount of dye fixative in the treating liquid satisfies apredetermined threshold. This may include comparing the output to apredetermined reference value that may be a range of reference values,an upper threshold or a lower threshold. The term “satisfies” thethreshold is used herein to mean that the variation satisfies thepredetermined threshold, such as being equal to, less than, or greaterthan the threshold value. It will be understood that such adetermination may easily be altered to be satisfied by apositive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. For example, aless than threshold value can easily be satisfied by applying a greaterthan test when the data is numerically inverted. In another example, themethod 206 may be repeated multiple times based on the dye fixative,load amount and/or load type.

Alternatively, the optional intermediate phase 24 may include a method212 which includes the optional extraction phase 204 and drain phase 202of method 200 and further includes applying rinse water from thehousehold water supply to the laundry and repeating the optionalextraction at 204 and draining at 202. Similar to the method 206, thedrain 202, optional extraction 204, and application of rinse water at214 may be repeated a predetermined number of times or based on outputfrom a sensor system indicative of an amount of dye fixative in theliquid drained at 202, as described above. For example, the method 212may be repeated multiple times until the output indicates that theamount of dye fixative in the treating liquid satisfies a predeterminedthreshold. In another example, the method 212 may be repeated multipletimes based on the dye fixative, load amount and/or load type.

While the intermediate phase 24 is illustrated in FIG. 1 between thepre-wash phase 14 and the main wash phase 16, it is within the scope ofthe invention for the intermediate phase 24 to alternatively oradditionally be implemented between one or more of the phases 12, 14,16, 18 and/or 20 of the cycle 10.

The main wash phase 16 may include the addition of a laundry detergentcomposition comprising one or more surfactants, detergents, soaps andoptional additional adjuncts that are known for use in laundry detergentcompositions, non-limiting examples of which include pH buffers,builders, viscosity modifying agents, colorants, fragrances, etc. Inaddition to washing the laundry with a laundry detergent composition,the laundry may also be treated with a dye absorber in the main washphase 18. The dye absorber may be part of the laundry detergentcomposition or a separate agent that may be supplied to the laundry inthe treating chamber before the laundry detergent composition issupplied or simultaneously with the laundry detergent composition. Aswill be described in more detail below, the laundry detergentcomposition may be formulated so as to not include anionic surfactants,or if anionic surfactants are included, only sulfate-based anionicsurfactants. In such a case, surfactancy may be provided by nonionicsurfactants or mixtures of cationic and nonionic surfactants. Anionicsurfactants may promote dye removal and may also interact undesirablywith dye fixative that may have been carried over from the pre-washphase 14.

For example, the dye absorber may be provided to the tub 54 and dilutedwith water from the household water supply 72. The dye absorber andwater in the tub 54 may be recirculated through the recirculationconduit 80 and back into the tub 54 without application to the laundryload 86 to mix the dye absorber and water prior to application thelaundry load 86. Alternatively, the dye absorber may be mixed with waterin a mixing chamber prior to spraying the dye absorber solution into thetreating chamber 62. The dye absorber mixed with water may be applied tothe laundry before the addition of a laundry detergent composition.Alternatively, following mixing of the dye absorber and water, thedetergent composition may be added to the dye absorber solution,optionally mixed by circulation through the recirculation conduit 80,and then applied to the laundry load 86.

The rinse phase 18 may include supplying a rinse liquid to the treatingchamber comprising a dye absorber that may be the same or different thanthe dye absorber supplied in the main wash phase 16. The rinse liquidmay optionally include additional laundry adjuncts such as fabricsoftener, for example. The rinse phase 18 may include supplying the tub54 one or more times with rinse liquid comprising a dye absorber in atleast one of the rinses. Each time the tub 54 is filled with a rinseliquid or rinse water and subsequently drained, this may be considered arinse stage. Although, depending on the volume of rinse liquid, it ispossible to have multiple rinse phases without an intervening draining.Each rinse stage may optionally include agitating the laundry within thetreating chamber 62 by activating the clothes mover 64 and/or rotatingthe drum 60, if dye absorber has been added in the main wash phase 16and/or the rinse phase 18. Agitating the laundry may facilitate removalof undesired dyes, such as the removal of dyes that have transferred towhite or light colored fabric in the load, for interaction andsubsequent removal with the dye absorbers.

When a dye absorber is supplied in the rinse phase 18, the rinse phase18 may be considered a dye removal or dye scrubber phase which can beimplemented as part of a rinse phase of the selected cycle of operationor independent of a rinse phase of the selected cycle of operation. Inone example, a dye removal/dye scrubber rinse phase 18 may beimplemented automatically, based on sensor data, or manually, based on aselection by the user through a user interface of the appliance.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary dye absorber rinse cycle 300 that may beused in the rinse phase 18 of the wash cycle 10, as part of anothercycle of operation or as a separate cycle. The rinse cycle 300 mayinclude a first rinse stage 302 followed by a second rinse stage 304.The first and second rinse stages 302 and 304 may include supplying arinse liquid and/or rinse water to the treating chamber 62. The rinseliquid in the first and second rinse stages may include one or moretreating chemistries, non-limiting examples of which include fabricsoftener, stain repellant, fragrance, wrinkle inhibitors, etc. . . . Thefirst and second rinse liquid may also optionally include a dyeabsorber. During the final rinse stage, which in the exemplary rinsecycle 300 is the third rinse stage 306, the laundry may be rinsed inrinse liquid containing a dye absorber. Applicants have found that ifdye absorber is not included in the final rinse stage 306, thelikelihood of dye transfer occurring in the final rinse stage increases.While the rinse cycle 300 is illustrated as having three rinse stages,it will be understood that the rinse cycle 300 may have greater or fewerstages prior to the final rinse.

While not meant to be limited by theory, it is believed that during thefirst and second rinse stages 302 and 304 following a main wash phase 16in which dye absorbers were supplied to the laundry, there may be enoughresidual dye absorbers carried by the laundry to inhibit dye transferduring the first and second rinse stages 302 and 304. However, eachrinse stage rinses away at least a portion of the residual dye absorber.Thus, at the third rinse stage 306 the amount of residual dye absorbermay be too low to inhibit dye transfer and a dye transfer event mayoccur. Supplying a rinse liquid in the third rinse stage 306 thatincludes dye absorber may inhibit dye transfer in the final rinse stage.In addition, even if dye transfer does occur in the first and secondrinse phases without any dye absorber present, the dye transfer maystill be removed in the third phase by supplying absorbers. However, ifno dye absorber is present in the third/final rinse, there is nosubsequent phase with absorber to remove the dye transfer. Whileadditional dye absorber may be added in the rinse stages preceding thefinal rinse stage 306, this may not be necessary, for the reasons justdiscussed. In addition, too much dye absorber may be undesirable and mayfurther increase costs to the consumer in the amount of chemistry theyhave to purchase.

Following the third rinse stage 306, an optional quick rinse 308 may beimplemented with rinse liquid that does not include dye absorber toremove at least a portion of the dye absorber associated with thelaundry. A quick rinse 308 may differ from the rinse stages 302, 304 and306 in either or both a smaller amount of liquid supplied to the laundryand/or a shorter length of time the laundry is in contact with theliquid to minimize dye transfer. In addition, the quick rinse 308 mayinclude minimal agitation of the laundry to minimize the likelihood ofdye transfer by contact. The quick rinse 308 may be used to supply rinseliquid to remove at least a portion of the dye absorber associated withthe laundry.

The combination of dye fixatives and dye absorbers in the same washcycle may be complementary in that when a cationic dye fixativeinteracts with a fabric surface, the cationic dye fixative may provide apositive charge to the fabric surface which may attract soils, which aregenerally negatively charged. This attraction of loose soil may increasethe appearance of fabric dinginess. The dye absorber in solution duringthe main wash phase 16 and rinse phase 18 may act as a sacrificialpolymer that may preferentially attract the loose soils relative to thedye fixative on the fabric surface.

Stages 302 through 308 of the method 300 may be used with the wash cycle10 or, alternatively, the method 300 may be used as a separate cycle.When part of a separate cycle, the method 300 may include a main washphase 310. The main wash phase 310 may be similar to the main wash phase16 of the cycle 10 in that the main wash phase 310 may include supplyingdye absorbers to the laundry, however, the alternative cycle would notinclude the application of a dye fixative.

FIG. 10 illustrates a clothes washer 450 that is similar to the clotheswasher 50 except for the drum 460 is oriented generally horizontallyrather than vertically. The clothes washer 450 is often referred to as a“front loader” or “horizontal axis” machine, even though the axis ofrotation is not always perfectly horizontal. The clothes washer 50 isoften referred to as a “top loader” or a “vertical axis” machine.Horizontal and vertical axis machines primarily differ in the manner inwhich they impart mechanical energy to the laundry. Horizontal axismachines impart mechanical energy by lifting and dropping, oftenreferred to as tumbling, the laundry within the drum 460, whereasvertical axis machines have a clothes mover, such as an agitator,nutator, impeller, etc., within the drum which rotates to applymechanical energy to the laundry. As many elements of the horizontalaxis and vertical axis machines are similar, elements of the clotheswasher 450 similar to those of clothes washer 50 have been labeled withthe prefix 400.

The clothes washer 450 may also be used to implement the dye transferprevention wash cycle 10 and any of the other methods described herein.However, because the orientation of the drum 460 and thus theorientation of the laundry within the treating chamber 462 is differentin the horizontal axis clothes washer 450 than the vertical axis clotheswasher 50, the manner in which liquid is supplied to the laundry maydiffer. It will be understood that all of the methods and compositionsdescribed herein may be used with both a horizontal axis clothes washerand a vertical axis clothes washer unless explicitly stated otherwise,even if the method or composition is described in the context of onlyone of the types of clothes washers.

The cycle 10 for a horizontal axis clothes washer may include thelaundry load detection phase 22, which may be the same as that describedabove with respect to the vertical axis clothes washer 50 and the method100, for example, or differ in the use of other inertia-based methodsthat are configured for use with horizontal axis clothes washers.However, in a horizontal axis clothes washer, the pre-wetting phase 12may be skipped and the laundry may be initially wet in the pre-washphase 14.

Application of a dye fixative in the pre-wash phase 14 in the context ofthe horizontal axis clothes washer 450 may include a combination ofspraying a recirculating dye fixative solution into the treating chamber462 from the tub 454 with the recirculation sprayer 474 and rotating thelaundry through the dye fixative solution in the tub 454. For example, adye fixative may be dispensed from a dispenser 490 and mixed with watersupplied into the tub 454 from the water supply 472. The dye fixativeand water supplied to the tub 454 may be mixed by recirculation throughthe recirculation conduit 480 without application to the laundry to forma dye fixative solution.

The drum 460 may be rotated such that the laundry rolls, flips, ortumbles through the dye fixative solution collected in the sump area 458of the tub 454 with optional dwell times to facilitate wicking of thedye fixative solution. The dye fixative solution may also becontinuously or intermittently sprayed into the treating chamber 462through the recirculation sprayer 474, such as according to the method120 of FIG. 5, for example. In this manner, both the exposed firststrike surface 488 of the laundry facing the treating chamber 462 andthe opposite side of the laundry facing the sidewall of the drum 460 arewet with the dye fixative solution. The drum 460 may further be rotatedat increasing speeds up to a satellizing speed such that the laundry 486redistributes within the drum 460 to expose additional laundry surfacesfor wetting with the dye fixative solution. For some small loads it maynot be necessary to recirculate solution through the sprayer 474 toadequately wet the load with the dye fixative solution.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a dispensing control method 500 for dispensingdye fixatives and dye absorbers in a clothes washer is illustrated. Thedispensing control method 500 may be used with the wash cycle 10 of FIG.1 to dispense a dye fixative in the pre-wash phase 14 or a dye absorberin the main wash phase 16 or rinse phase 18. The dispensing controlmethod 500 may also be used with any other cycle of operation todispense a dye fixative, dye absorber, or other treating chemistry.

The method 500 may begin with supplying a first portion of the treatingchemistry, such as a dye fixative or dye absorber, during a first stageof the cycle of operation or a first stage of a phase of the cycle ofoperation at 502. Supplying a portion of a treating chemistry may referto dispensing a portion of an undiluted treating chemistry into a liquid(e.g. water, a wash liquid, or a rinse liquid) for dilution and thensupplying the diluted treating chemistry to the treating chamber.Alternatively, supplying a portion of a treating chemistry may refer tosupplying a portion of a treating chemistry solution in which a treatingchemistry has already been diluted with a liquid. The first stage mayrefer to a beginning of the cycle or phase or a predetermined timeperiod after the beginning.

At 504 a second portion of the treating chemistry is supplied during asecond stage of the phase. An n^(th) portion of the treating chemistrymay be supplied at successively later stages of the phase at 506 until afinal portion of the chemistry is supplied. The cycle or phase may becompleted at 508 without further addition of the treating chemistry. Theamount of treating chemistry supplied during each stage of the cycle orphase and the timing within the phase during which the treatingchemistry is supplied may be determined experimentally or empirically soas to maintain a concentration of the treating chemistry in the treatingchamber at a predetermined concentration or within a predetermined rangebased on the treating chemistry.

A control system, such as an open loop control system, may be used tocontrol the amount and timing of supplying at each stage based on thetreating chemistry being supplied according to a control algorithmassociated with the control system. The treating chemistry may besupplied at each stage as either a single shot at a beginning of eachstage or supplied intermittently or continuously throughout the courseof each stage. When the treating chemistry is supplied throughout thestage, the amount of chemistry supplied may be controlled by controllinga rate at which the chemistry is supplied or a duration of on/off timesof a pump for supplying the chemistry. This may include controlling therate or on/off periods of a dispenser metering pump or a pump used forrecirculating liquid from the sump into the treating chamber. The typeof treating chemistry may be determined automatically based on sensorinformation or the selected cycle information or may be determinedmanually based on user input.

For example, the first portion of the treating chemistry supplied at thebeginning of the phase may be determined to be an amount which bringsthe concentration of the treating chemistry in the treating chamber towithin a predetermined preferred or effective range, above apredetermined lower threshold and/or below a predetermined upperthreshold. The amount of the second portion of treating chemistry andthe timing of the second stage may be determined so as to maintain theconcentration of the treating chemistry in the treating chamber withinthe predetermined range such that the concentration of the treatingchemistry remains relatively constant from the first stage to the secondstage. The amount of each n^(th) portion and the timing of each n^(th)stage for dispensing may be determined so as to maintain theconcentration of the treating chemistry within the predetermined rangethroughout each stage. The amount and timing of the last portion oftreating chemistry supplied during the last stage may be determined soas to maintain the concentration of the treating chemistry within thepredetermined range until the end of the cycle or phase.

An exemplary algorithm for controlling dispensing according to themethod 500 may include supplying 50% of a total dose of a treatingchemistry at the beginning of the cycle or phase, supplying the next 35%of the total dose over the course of the first half of the cycle orphase, and the remaining 15% of the total dose during the third quarterof the cycle or phase with no additional treating chemistry suppliedduring the final quarter of the cycle. In this manner, as the treatingchemistry is depleted or “used up” as the cycle or phase progresses, theremainder of the treating chemistry dose may be supplied to replenishthe depleted treating chemistry such that the concentration of thetreating chemistry remains relatively constant as the cycle or phaseprogresses.

Alternatively, rather than an open loop control system in which thedispensing of the treating chemistry is not controlled based on feedbackto the controller, the method 500 may be implemented using a closed loopsystem based on sensor information. A sensor system may be configured toprovide sensor data indicative of a concentration of the treatingchemistry which may provide feedback to the closed loop system whichincludes a control algorithm to vary the amount and/or timing of thetreating chemistry supplied. For example, the closed loop system maycontinuously vary a rate at which treating chemistry is supplied duringeach stage based on the feedback from the sensor system.

The sensor system may include any suitable system for determining acharacteristic of the liquid indicative of the concentration of a dye(s)in the liquid. The sensor system may determine the concentration of thedye in liquid that is being recirculated within the clothes washer,collected in the sump of the clothes washer or drained from the clotheswasher. Non-limiting examples of suitable sensor systems includeultraviolet or visible light absorbance/transmittance or fluorescencesystems, a conductivity sensor, and/or a turbidity sensor.

For some chemistries, such as dye fixatives and dye absorbers, it may bedesirable to maintain the concentration of the chemistry within apredetermined range to avoid failure modes and unnecessary costs to theconsumer. The concentration of available dye fixative or dye absorber insolution, i.e. fixative or absorber that is available for associatingwith dye molecules, may decrease over time through the course of thecycle or phase as the fixative or absorber complexes with dye insolution or on fabric or otherwise becomes unavailable, such as byinteraction with surfaces of the clothes washer or other contaminants insolution. As the amount of available dye fixative or dye absorber isdepleted, the concentration of the dye fixative or dye absorber maydecrease to a concentration outside of a predetermined range or below apredetermined threshold, making it difficult to maintain a constantconcentration throughout the cycle or phase or to keep the concentrationwithin a predetermined range or above a predetermined threshold.

If there is not enough available dye fixative or dye absorber insolution, the fixative/absorber may not be able to adequately preventdye transfer. For example, for dye absorbers, sufficient available dyeabsorber in solution may be needed to ensure that sufficient absorber ispresent to capture and suspend any fugitive dyes in solution before thedyes can redeposit on another garment in the laundry. If theconcentration of dye fixative is too low, there may not be sufficientdye fixative present to prevent the liquid in the treating chamber fromlifting the dye from the fabric.

One way to address the depletion of available dye fixative/dye absorberthrough the course of the phase or cycle may be to add a highconcentration of dye fixative/dye absorber, e.g. a concentration higherthan the desired predetermined range or threshold. However, if theconcentration is too high, the possibility of fixatives/absorbersdepositing on components of the clothes washer and leading to undesiredbuild-up may increase. In addition, for some fixatives, increasing theconcentration above a certain threshold may decrease the efficacy of thedye fixatives and even exacerbate dye transfer. Some dye absorbers mayform undesirable suds if the concentration becomes too high.Furthermore, even when the concentration of the dye fixative or dyeabsorber is increased at the beginning of the cycle such that theidentified problems above are avoided, the concentration may still notbe enough to maintain the concentration within a desired range throughthe course of the cycle or phase.

For example, FIG. 12 illustrates a graph 520 representing the change ofa concentration of a dye fixative, such as a cationic methyleneguanidine based dye fixative commercially available under the trade nameRetayne™ (available from G&K Craft Industries), for example, duringmixing of the dye fixative with treating liquid prior to the start ofrecirculation at 522, at the start of recirculation at 524 and atsubsequent 30 second intervals during recirculation at 526. FIG. 12 isused for illustrative purposes only for the purpose of describing anembodiment of the invention and is not meant to limit the invention inany manner. Consider, for example, the case described above in which thedye fixative is supplied to the laundry in a concentration of abouttwice the desired concentration. For example, when the desiredpredetermined concentration range for the dye fixative for the cycle is2-2.5 g/L, the dye fixative may be added at the beginning of the cycleor phase, prior to the start of circulation, at a concentration ofapproximately twice the desired concentration. As may be seen in FIG.12, at the start of recirculation of the treating liquid at 524, theconcentration of the dye fixative has already decreased from the initialconcentration of almost 4.5 g/L to about 2 g/L. As the cycle or phasecontinues, the concentration of the dye fixative decreases further toabout 1 g/L, which is below the desired predetermined range. Thus,simply overcharging the dye fixative at the start of a cycle or phasemay not be suitable for maintaining the concentration of the dyefixative within the predetermined range throughout the course of thecycle or phase.

While the open and closed loop control systems of the method 500 havebeen described in the context of dye fixatives and dye absorbers, themethod 500 may be useful with other treating chemistries as well, suchas detergents, surfactants or bleaches, for example. For example, in acold water sanitization cycle, the concentration of chlorine may be keptrelatively constant at a low level throughout the course of the cycle orphase that is sufficient to sanitize the laundry while not affecting thecolorfastness of the laundry. However, if the concentration variesoutside a predetermined range, either sanitization may not be achievedor colorfastness of the laundry may be effected.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a method 550 for determining an amount of dyeabsorber to add during a cycle of operation is illustrated. The method550 may be used to control the supply of dye absorber to the laundry asneeded so as to provide sufficient dye absorber in solution to inhibitdye transfer while minimizing excess dye absorber. The method 550 may beused with the closed loop system of method 500 or any other method fordispensing a dye absorber. While the method 550 is described in thecontext of dye absorbers, it will be understood that the method 550 maybe used in a similar manner with dye fixatives or other chemistry.

The method 550 begins with the assumption that a user has loaded theclothes washer with one or more laundry items and selected a cycle ofoperation which uses dye absorbers. At 552 an initial dose of dyeabsorber may be supplied to the treating chamber for treating thelaundry. The amount of initial dye absorber supplied may be determinedautomatically based on sensor data, characteristics of the load (e.g.load amount), or the selected cycle, for example, or manually based oninformation provided by the user.

At 554 an absorbance and/or fluorescence (Abs/F) characteristic of thedye absorber, which will be described in further detail below, may bedetermined. The Abs/F characteristic may be of the dye absorber or of acomposition which includes a dye absorber. The Abs/F characteristic ofthe dye absorber may be determined based on information stored in amemory accessible by a controller of the clothes washer. The informationmay be in the form of a look-up table of absorbance or fluorescencespectra or data for different dye absorbers. The identity of the dyeabsorber may be determined automatically based on sensor data ormanually based on user input and used to find the absorbance orfluorescence spectra or data for the dye absorber in the look-up table.Alternatively, the absorbance or fluorescence spectra for the dyeabsorber may be determined by the clothes washer prior to application ofthe dye absorber to the laundry items. In one example, the identity ofthe dye absorber may be determined using one or more sensors in thedispenser to determine a characteristic of the dye absorber and alook-up table stored in the controller may be used to determine theidentity and/or spectra for the identified dye absorber. In yet anotherexample, the identity of the dye absorber and/or the Abs/Fcharacteristic may be determined based on information carried by acontainer storing the dye absorber that may be communicated wirelesslywith the clothes washer controller (e.g. through an RFID system) orthrough a hard-wire connection or which may be read by an appropriatesensor provided on the clothes washer (e.g. a bar code/bar code readersystem).

At 556 an Abs/F characteristic of the treating liquid after the dyeabsorber has been supplied to the laundry in the treating chamber may bedetermined. The Abs/F characteristic may be based on the absorbance orfluorescence of a dye absorber-dye complex in solution or suspendedwithin the liquid mixture, which may be representative of the dyeabsorber level in the liquid mixture. The Abs/F characteristic may bedetermined based on output provided by an optical sensor representativeof a sensed spectral absorbance and/or fluorescence of the treatingliquid. It will also be understood that when referring to absorbanceherein, transmittance, which is related to absorbance, may be used as analternative to absorbance or in order to determine the absorbance. Forsome dyes and dye absorbers, the dye absorber-dye complex UV and/orvisible light absorbance or fluorescence spectrum may be measurablydifferent than the absorbance or fluorescence spectrum for theindividual dye and dye absorber components of the complex. The Abs/Fcharacteristic may be based on the absorbance/fluorescence of thetreating liquid at a single wavelength or over a range of wavelengths.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary absorbance spectrum 570 for a cationicpolyamine dye absorber in the presence and absence of a dye. As may beseen by dye absorber spectrum 572, the dye absorber in the absence ofdye has a strong absorbance in the ultraviolet region. As may be seen byspectra 574 and 576, in the presence of increasing concentration of dye,10 mg/L and 20 mg/L, respectively, the absorbance spectrum shiftscompared to the absorbance spectrum 572 of the polyamine dye absorberalone. This shift in absorbance in the presence of dye may be used as anindication of the presence of a dye absorber-dye complex, which may beused to determine if enough dye absorber is present in the treatingliquid to complex with dye in solution.

Referring back to FIG. 13, at 558 it may be determined if the Abs/Fcharacteristic of the treating liquid satisfies a predeterminedthreshold at one or more wavelengths. This may include comparing theAbs/F characteristic to a predetermined reference value that may be arange of reference values, an upper threshold or a lower threshold. Thereference value may be based on the known characteristics of the dyeabsorber. In the embodiment of FIG. 13, the threshold is a lowerthreshold. If the Abs/F characteristic satisfies the lower threshold itmay be determined that there is not sufficient uncomplexed dye absorberin solution and one of two options 562 or 564 may occur. If the Abs/Fcharacteristic does not satisfy the lower threshold, it may bedetermined at 560 that there is uncomplexed dye absorber in solution andadditional dye absorber is not needed. The term “satisfies” thethreshold is used herein to mean that the variation satisfies thepredetermined threshold, such as being equal to, less than, or greaterthan the threshold value. It will be understood that such adetermination may easily be altered to be satisfied by apositive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. For example, aless than threshold value can easily be satisfied by applying a greaterthan test when the data is numerically inverted.

In a first option 562, an additional dose of dye absorber may beautomatically supplied to the laundry. The amount of the additional doseof dye absorber may be a predetermined amount of dye absorber based onthe Abs/F characteristic of the treating liquid determined at 558 orindependent of the Abs/F characteristic. The Abs/F characteristic of thetreating liquid may then be determined again at 556 and a determinationof whether the Abs/F characteristic of the treating liquid is below thepredetermined threshold is made at 558. The elements 556, 558 and 562 ofmethod 550 may be repeated a predetermined number of times or until theAbs/F characteristic is below the threshold.

Alternatively, or additionally, a second option 564 includescommunicating to the user that the amount of dye absorber was low or maynot have been sufficient for the load and providing the user withadditional instructions. In one example, the user may be prompted to addmore dye absorber to the treating chamber and restart the cycle. Thismay be useful in clothes washers with single dose dispensers in whichthe entire dose of dye absorber provided in the dispenser is supplied tothe treating chamber. In another example, the user feedback couldinclude warning the user to inspect the load at the end of the cycle andoptionally warning the user to not dry the laundry under high heat. Inanother example, the feedback may include communicating information tothe clothes dryer to dry at a low temperature or to block a hightemperature selection, in a manner similar to that described below inmethod 1500 of FIG. 26.

One example of a dye fixative composition according to an embodiment ofthe invention, which may be suitable for use according to any of themethods described herein, includes three cationic dye fixativesproviding the composition with a tri-modal molecular weightdistribution, i.e. the composition contains three different discretepopulations, each within a predetermined range of weight averagemolecular weight Mw. The combination of cationic fixatives having threedifferent Mw may be selected to inhibit dye bleeding of different dyetypes within a mixed load of laundry or within a laundry item havingmultiple dye types. As discussed above, the various dye types interactwith the fabric differently and thus it is challenging to find a singledye fixative that can address dye bleeding for all of the different dyeand fabric types.

For example, acid dyes are typically smaller than direct dyes and thushave a higher diffusivity and smaller conformation. A suitable dyefixative for acid dyes may be a dye fixative that is capable of forminga direct electrostatic bond with an individual acid dye molecule andneutralize the charge. In addition, because acid and reactive dyes aretypically small molecules, generally in the range of 10 kDa, a dyefixative for acid and reactive dyes may have to have high diffusivity toreach the fabric surface before the acid/reactive dyes release from thefabric surface.

Direct dyes in contrast are larger molecules with anionic sites thatremain on fabrics because of favorable partitioning with the fabric ascompared to the wash liquid. A suitable dye fixative for direct dyes maybe a large cationic molecule that can bind to negatively charged fabricsurfaces, such as cotton/cellulose, and form a polymeric film on thefiber surface to prevent the release of direct dyes from the surface.Because direct dyes are typically large molecules, small fixativemolecules are not always effective at inhibiting release of direct dyesfrom fabric surface.

According to one embodiment, the dye fixative composition may bedesigned so as to inhibit dye bleeding of both direct and acid dyes. Thefirst dye fixative may be a large polymer having cationic functionalgroups capable of inhibiting dye bleeding of direct dyes having an Mwgreater than 200 kDa and a zeta potential greater than 20 mV.Non-limiting examples of polymers suitable for use as the first dyefixative include cationic polymers containing functional groups selectedfrom the group consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines andtheir salts, quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts, such as polydiallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAAC) andpoly(acrylamide-co-diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride), polyacrylamide,and polyethyleneimine. In one example, the first dye fixative mayinclude a reactive functional group, such as a vinyl group, a reactivehydroxyl group or an epoxy, for example, which may form a covalent bondwith the fabric.

The second and third dye fixatives may be selected so as to inhibit dyebleeding of reactive/acid dyes. The second dye fixative may be selectedfrom polymers having cationic functional groups having an Mw less 10 kDabut greater than 1 kDa and a zeta potential of greater than 20 mV.Non-limiting examples of polymers suitable for use as the second dyefixative include cationic polymers containing functional groups selectedfrom the group consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines andtheir salts, and quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts.

The third dye fixative may be selected from surfactants, polymers and/ormonomers having an Mw less than 1 kDa, a zeta potential greater than 20mV and a diffusivity greater than 5×10⁻⁶ cm²/s. Non-limiting examples ofsubstances suitable for the third dye fixative include cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cetyl pyridinium bromide (CPB); diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAAC). In one example, the dye cationicfixative includes at least one polymer and/or monomer having a cationicfunctional group in combination with a cationic surfactant.

The combination of different Mw dye fixatives are selected so as toaddress dye bleeding from multiple different types of dyes. Contrary toan industrial setting in which the fabrics and dye types are uniformand/or at least well known to the user, in a residential settingdifferent fabrics and dye types may be mixed into a single load andtherefore a dye fixative composition that may address dye bleeding fromdifferent dye types may be beneficial to the user in a residentialsetting. In addition, the smaller, high diffusivity cationic moleculesof the second and third dye fixative may partition to the fabrics firstcompared to the larger polymer of the first dye fixative. The initiallayer of smaller cationic molecules on the fabric surface, such as acellulose fabric surface, may diffuse the negative surface charge of thecellulose, providing improved transportation of the larger cationicmolecules on the cellulose and hence improved distribution.

The dye fixative composition may also include an anionic fixative thathas a very low diffusivity and partitioning coefficient onto the laundryfabric so that the anionic fixative partitions onto the fabrics last,after the first, second and third dye fixatives. The anionic fixativemay inhibit dye bleeding for acid dyes by fixing on a positively chargednylon surface and forming a polymeric film on the surface. In addition,the anionic fixative may interact with the cationic dye fixative whichhas already deposited onto a fabric surface, such as a cotton surface,and decrease or neutralize the positive charge imparted to the surfaceby the dye fixative. This may decrease the attraction of negativelycharged soils to the fabric surface. Alternatively, the rate at whichthe anionic fixative deposits on the fabrics surface relative to thecationic dye fixative may be slowed by selecting an anionic fixativethat has a larger molecular weight than the cationic dye fixative.Non-limiting examples of anionic fixatives include polymers with thefollowing functional groups—sulfonate, carboxylate, acrylic acid, someexamples of which include poly(acrylic acid), poly(methaacrylic acid),poly(styrene sulfonate), poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid),poly(vinylsulfonic acid). In an exemplary embodiment, the anionicfixative has an M_(w) of 200 kDa or greater.

The first and second dye fixatives may comprise a polymer havingcationic functional groups, as described above. Alternatively, either orboth the first and second dye fixatives may be a zwitterionic moleculethat includes both cationic and anionic functional groups that becomecharged depending on cycle conditions. Non-limiting examples of cationicfunctional groups include primary, secondary, and tertiary amines.Non-limiting examples of anionic functional groups include sulfonatesand carboxylates. The zwitterionic molecule may be selected to providethe desired cationic or anionic charge at a predetermined time or stageduring a cycle of operation. In one example, the zwitterionic moleculemay include a cationic functional group that is charged at least betweenpH 6-8.

In another example, either or both the first and second dye fixativesmay include a dye-reactive functional group covalently bonded to the dyefixative to destroy or otherwise disable the ability of a dye to color afabric. The dye-reactive functional group may include a reactive group,such as an oxidizing agent (e.g. sodium hypochlorite) or a reducingagent (e.g. sodium thiosulfate). In another example, the dye-reactivefunctional group may include catalyst materials that generate oxygenradicals, which may be short lived. Non-limiting examples of suitableoxygen radical generating functional groups include metal silicates,polyoxometalates and/or other metal complexes. In one example, the firstdye fixative may be configured to partition preferentially to the fabricsurface such that the reactive functional group is available to reactwith loose dyes adjacent the fabric surface.

The dye fixative composition may further include an oxidizing agent,such as hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide generating substance, and ispreferably acidic, having a pH less than 7. Preferably, the oxidizingagent is active at cold wash temperatures (e.g. less than 85° F.). Anon-limiting example of a suitable oxidizing agent includes peraceticacid. In one example, the oxidizing agent may be a component of the dyefixative formulation. In another example, the dye fixative may includechemicals that interact with a component of the wash detergentcomposition to produce hydrogen peroxide, non-limiting examples of whichinclude an enzyme alcohol oxidase provided in the dye fixativecomposition that reacts with ethanol present in the wash detergentcomposition to produce hydrogen peroxide. In another example, the dyefixative formulation may include acetic acid in an amount to provide thedye fixative formulation with a pH less than 7.

Another example of a dye fixative composition includes a mixture ofcationic surfactants and nonionic surfactants that are capable offorming self-assembled monolayers on the surface of the fabric. In oneexample, the mixture can include a mixture of cationic surfactants andhigh HLB nonionic surfactants. The cationic surfactants may have a zetapotential of greater than +20 mV. In one example, the zeta potential ispreferably between +20 mV and +40 mV. The nonionic surfactants may havean HLB in the range of 8-14. The cationic surfactants are capable ofelectrostatic interaction with the surface of the fabric, such as acotton fabric, for example, and may form a first monolayer on the fabricsurface which retains the dye at the fabric surface. The nonionicsurfactants may provide screening of the electrostatic repulsion betweenthe head groups of the cationic surfactants and further allow for ahigher packing density of the assembled surfactant layer on the fabricsurface. The length of the alkyl chains of the surfactants may beselected so as to provide a film having a predetermined thickness on thefabric surface. In addition, a ratio of the concentration of thecationic and nonionic surfactants may be selected to provide a desiredpacking density when assembled at the fabric surface. For example, alower packing density may allow for penetration of water through thefilm to the fabric surface to facilitate the removal of soils from thefabric surface, while still retaining the dye at the fabric surface.Alternatively, the packing density may be selected so as to providelittle to no water penetration of the film.

An example of a dye absorber composition according to an embodiment ofthe invention, which may be used according to any of the methodsdescribed herein, includes a combination of cationic and nonionic dyeabsorbers. There are a variety of different dye types with differentsurface charges. For example, direct and acid dyes generally arenegatively charged while disperse and vat dyes are typically neutralunder conditions normally found in a wash liquid during a wash cycle ina clothes washer. The dye absorbers of the composition may be selectedto accommodate the various types of loose dye that may bleed during acycle of operation.

The cationic dye absorber component may include a water soluble cationicabsorber, examples of which are well known, such aspolyvinylpyrrolidone. In another example, the cationic dye absorber mayinclude a zwitterionic dye absorber that becomes cationically chargeddepending on conditions in solution in the treating chamber. Thecationic dye absorber component may also include a surfactant systemcomprising one or more cationic surfactants configured to be present inthe treating liquid when applied to the laundry at a concentration abovethe critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the surfactants. Cationicsurfactants above the CMC may interact with acid and direct dyes suchthat loose dye, for example dye that has transferred to other fabrics inthe load, which is not removed by a long chain cationic polymeric dyeabsorber, may be removed by the cationic surfactants. Non-limitingexamples of suitable cationic surfactants include cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) and cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB).

The nonionic dye absorber component may include emulsifiers to absorbdisperse and vat dyes in solution. In one example, the emulsifier may bea surfactant system. In one example, the surfactant system includes oneor more nonionic surfactants having an HLB in the range of 8 to 18 andcapable of forming micelles between 10 to 40° C. in an aqueous solution.Preferably, the nonionic surfactants are configured to be present in thetreating liquid when applied to the laundry at a concentration above theCMC of the surfactants. An exemplary surfactant system may also includea block co-polymer. In another example, the surfactant system mayadditionally or alternatively include one or more zwitterionic oramphoteric surfactants. In yet another example, the emulsifier mayadditionally or alternatively include host-guest complexes, such ascyclodextrin, for example.

In another example, the emulsifier of the nonionic dye absorbercomponent may be in the form of colloidal particulates which form aPickering emulsion. In general, colloidal particulates are considered aschanging the interfacial energy to form stable emulsions of dyemolecules in the liquid, rather than changing the surface tension of theliquid. Colloidal particulates, such as nano-crystalline cellulose,silica, particulates with positively charged functional groups, clay orsilica-covered particles, for example, can act as Pickering emulsions tocomplex with and suspend dye molecules in solution.

The dye absorber composition may also include additional adjuncts,non-limiting examples of which include chelators and builders, such asEDTA and STPP.

FIG. 15 illustrates a method 600 for removing dye that is loose insolution or has transferred to other fabric in the laundry load whichmay be used with the dye absorber composition just described including acombination of cationic and/or nonionic dye absorber components. Themethod 600 may be used with the wash cycle 10, other wash cycle, or as aseparate cycle of operation. The method 600 may be implemented during acycle of operation to remove loose dye that has transferred in thecurrently running cycle. Alternatively, the method 600 may be used toremove loose dye that has transferred in a previously run cycle. Themethod 600 includes treating the laundry with a wash liquid including atleast one surfactant and optionally enzymes, such as a laundrydetergent, to lift soils from the fabric at 602, such as may occurduring a main wash phase of a wash cycle. Following treatment with awash liquid at 602, the laundry load may be rotated at high speeds toextract the wash liquid, which includes the detergent composition andsoil which has been lifted from the laundry, from the laundry load at604.

At 606 the laundry may be treated with a dye absorber composition. Inone exemplary embodiment, the dye absorber composition may include acombination of the cationic and nonionic dye absorber componentsdescribed above. The dye absorber composition may optionally includezwitterionic dye absorber components, as described above, without theaddition of additional anionic surfactants and/or enzymes (e.g. noadditional laundry detergent is added).

The dye absorber composition may include at least one water solublecationic dye absorber, a surfactant system comprising at least onesurfactant and an emulsifier. The at least one water soluble cationicdye absorber may include a polymeric dye absorber, such aspolyvinylpyrrolidone, or a zwitterionic dye absorber that becomescationically charged depending on conditions in solution in the treatingchamber, for example. The surfactant system may include cationic and/ornonionic surfactants above the CMC. Non-limiting examples of suitablecationic surfactants include cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) andcetylpyridinium bromide (CPB). Non-limiting examples of suitablenonionic surfactants include surfactants having an HLB in the range of 8to 18 and capable of forming micelles between 10 to 40° C. in an aqueoussolution

The emulsifier may include a Pickering emulsion to complex with dyes insolution or that may have transferred to other fabrics. In one example,the emulsifier component may include cationic colloidal particulatescapable of forming Pickering emulsions to complex with loose acid anddirect dyes present in solution or that may have transferred to otherfabrics. Additionally, or alternatively, the surfactant system mayinclude nonionic surfactants present above the CMC to complex with loosedisperse and vat dyes in solution or that may have transferred to otherfabrics. In another example, the emulsifier component may include ahost-guest complex. In yet another example, the emulsifier component mayinclude a surfactant system comprising at least one surfactant presentat a concentration above the CMC of the at least one surfactant.

The dye absorber treatment phase 606 may include mechanical agitation tofacilitate removal of loose dyes, such as loose dyes that may havetransferred onto light or white colored fabrics. In this manner the dyeabsorber treatment phase 606 may be considered a dye removal or dyescrubber phase in that dye absorbers are supplied to the laundry tocomplex with dyes for removal from the laundry load. While the dyeabsorber treatment phase 606 is described for use with the compositionincluding a combination of cationic and nonionic dye absorbers describedabove, it will be understood that the dye absorber treatment phase 606may be used with other dye absorber compositions in a similar manner. Inaddition, while the dye absorber composition is described in the contextof the method 600, the composition may be used with other methods.

The concentration of one or more of the surfactants in the dye absorbercomposition may be monitored during the treatment phase 606 to maintainthe concentration above the CMC for that particular surfactant. Theconcentration may be monitored using one or more sensors or may bedetermined empirically by the controller using pre-programmed algorithmsand based on information related to the amount of laundry, the volume ofliquid supplied during the cycle of operation, the amount of absorbercomposition supplied and/or the concentration of the dye absorbercomposition supplied. The concentration may be controlled by controllingthe dosage of the surfactant and/or controlling an amount of watersupplied to the treating chamber. For example, if the concentration istoo high above the CMC, additional water may be added to dilute thesurfactant concentration. In another example, if the concentration istoo low, additional dye absorber composition may be added to increasethe surfactant concentration.

The amount of treating composition to supply to the treating chamberduring the treatment phase 606 may be based on the amount of treatingchemistry provided to the dispenser and/or based on an amount of laundryin the treating chamber. The amount of laundry may be determined duringa load amount determining phase that may be part of the method 600 orpart of the cycle of operation used with the method 600. In one example,the laundry treating appliance may use the load detection phase 22described above with respect to FIG. 1 or any other suitable loaddetection method to determine the amount of laundry. In another examplethe load amount may be determined based on input by the user related tothe load amount. In yet another example, the amount of treatingcomposition can be supplied based on an amount of liquid supplied to thetreating chamber to achieve the desired concentration of surfactants inthe treating liquid during the treatment phase 606.

At 608 the treatment liquid applied at 606 may be extracted from thelaundry. This may include draining treatment liquid collected in a sumpof the clothes washer so that it is no longer recirculated back onto thelaundry and may optionally include spinning the laundry at high speedsto facilitate the extraction of liquid from the laundry. The dyeabsorber treatment at 606 and extraction at 608 may be repeated one ormore times and may be considered part of a dye removal or dye scrubberphase to remove dye that is loose in solution and/or has transferred toother fabric in the laundry load implemented as part of a rinse phase ofa wash cycle or independent of a rinse phase of a wash cycle. Followingthe extraction at 608, a final rinse may be implemented at 610. Thefinal rinse may include additional dye absorber and optionally otherrinse agents, such as a fabric softener, for example. Alternatively, thefinal rinse may include water or a rinse liquid which includes rinseagents, such as a fabric softener. If the final rinse at 610 includesdye absorber, the final rinse may be implemented with mechanicalagitation of the laundry load; if the final rinse at 610 does notinclude dye absorber, the final rinse may be restricted to onlymechanical motion which does not facilitate relative fabric-to-fabricmotion, which may facilitate dye transfer.

FIG. 16 illustrates a method 650 for inhibiting dye transfer during awash cycle which includes treatment of the laundry with a dye transferinhibiting composition including a fabric softener and a dye absorbercomposition. The dye absorber composition may include the dye absorbercomposition described above which includes a combination of cationic andnonionic dye absorber components or some other dye absorber composition.The fabric softener may include at least one cationic small chainpolymer and/or at least one silicone-based polymer which is capable ofacting as a dye fixative. The method 650 may be used with the wash cycle10, with another wash cycle or as a separate cycle of operation.

The method 650 begins with treating the laundry with a first dose of thedye inhibitor composition at 652. At 654, the laundry may be washedaccording to a wash phase of a selected cycle of operation with a washliquid that includes at least one surfactant and optionally enzymes,such as a wash liquid containing a laundry detergent composition, tolift soils from the fabric. At 656, a second dose of the dye inhibitorcomposition may be supplied to the treating chamber for treating thelaundry. The second dose of the dye inhibitor may be dispensed during arinse phase to replenish fabric softener which may have been removedfrom the laundry during the wash phase at 654. The second dose of dyeabsorbers may facilitate removal of transferred loose dyes during therinse phase.

While not meant to be limited by any theory, the softener component ofthe dye transfer inhibiting composition may form a thin film on thesurface of the fabric from the electrostatic interaction of thepositively charged fabric softener and the cellulose substrate that mayfix or retain loose dyes on the surface of the laundry. The dyeabsorbers may be provided in the composition to complex with loose dyesin solution that may have been released from the surface of the laundryfabric. Some surfactants, especially those containing anionic functionalgroups, may increase the release of dyes from the fabric surface intosolution during treatment with a laundry detergent including suchsurfactants. The presence of the fabric softener, which may act as a dyefixative to fix dyes at the surface of the laundry, in combination withdye absorbers available for complexing with loose dyes, may decrease therate of release of dyes from the fabric surface and the subsequent dyetransfer that may occur during washing with a laundry detergent.

FIG. 17A illustrates a method 700 for facilitating distribution of a dyefixative on a laundry load. Dye fixatives may interact electrostaticallywith fabrics resulting in localized spots of high concentration of dyefixative and non-uniform distribution on the laundry items. For example,cationic dye fixatives can interact electrostatically with the celluloseof cotton fibers, making uniform distribution of the dye fixative on thefabric difficult. Uniform distribution of the dye fixative on the fabricfacilitates inhibition of dye transfer from the fabric surface. Themethod 700 may utilize a dye fixative having a characteristic which maybe adjusted or manipulated in order to control a strength of theinteraction between the dye fixative and a fabric surface so as tofacilitate the desired distribution, dye fixing and optional fixativeremoval. The method 700 may be used with the wash cycle 10 of FIG. 1 orany other suitable wash cycle.

The strength or degree of interaction between a charged molecule, suchas a cationic dye fixative, and a charged surface, such as a cottonfiber surface, may be controlled by adjusting the potential of themolecule and/or the surface. Zeta potential is a measure indicative of apotential of a charged material in solution. Solution conditions, suchas pH, ionic strength, temperature and pressure can affect the measuredzeta potential of a material. The method 700 may be used with a dyefixative having a tunable or adjustable zeta potential which may becontrolled to provide a desired degree of interaction between the dyefixative and a laundry surface.

The method 700 may begin at 702 with distributing a dye fixative to thelaundry. Distributing the dye fixative may include supplying a treatingcomposition comprising at least one dye fixative to wet or saturate thelaundry. The treating composition may be configured to provide anessentially neutrally charged dye fixative. As used herein, a neutrallycharged dye fixative is a dye fixative having a zeta potential nearzero, preferably within ±10 mV. Providing a neutrally charged dyefixative to the laundry may provide a more uniform distribution of thedye fixative to the laundry by minimizing the electrostatic attractionbetween the dye fixative and the fabric surface. Minimizing theelectrostatic attraction between the dye fixative and the fabric surfaceduring the distributing at 702 may inhibit the formation of localizedspots of high concentration of dye fixative by allowing the dye fixativeto spread or distribute on the fabric surface before becoming stronglyattracted to the surface.

Once the dye fixative has been distributed to the laundry, it isdesirable to increase the strength of the interaction between the dyefixative and the fabric surface in order for the dye fixative to remainassociated with the fabric surface and to interact with dye moleculesassociated with the fabric to inhibit transfer or bleeding of the dyemolecules from the surface. Thus, at some predetermined point followingthe distribution of the dye fixative, at 704 the zeta potential of thedye fixative may be changed such that an electrostatic interactionbetween the dye fixative and the fabric surface and/or dye moleculesassociated with the laundry fabric increases.

Depending on the nature of the dye fixative and the fabric surface, thezeta potential of the dye fixative may be increased or decreased suchthat the electrostatic attraction between the dye fixative and thefabric surface increases. In the case of a cationic dye fixative and acotton fabric, the zeta potential of the dye fixative may be increasedto increase the electrostatic attraction between the dye fixative andthe cotton fabric. The zeta potential of the dye fixative may be changedby altering the pH, ionic strength, temperature and/or pressure of thefluid within which the dye fixative is dissolved or suspended. Forexample, the pH may be changed to a desired pH by adding a suitable pHbuffer or using electrolysis to alter the pH, as discussed furtherbelow. In another example, the ionic strength of the fluid may bechanged by providing a salt or salt solution to the fluid. Non-limitingexamples of salts that may be used to adjust the ionic strength includesodium chloride, sodium sulfate, and ammonium sulfate.

At 706, the dye fixative may be removed from the fabric surface, such asby changing the zeta potential of the dye fixative again to facilitateremoval of the dye fixative from the fabric surface. For example,typically, it is desirable to have a dye fixative associated with thelaundry fabric during a wash phase in a cycle of operation to inhibitdye transfer during the wash phase. As discussed previously, elementssuch as the detergent, temperature, amount of liquid and mechanicalenergy used during the wash phase may promote or facilitate dye transferduring the wash phase, thus making it desirable to use a dye fixative toinhibit dye transfer. However, it may not be desirable to leave the dyefixative on the laundry at the end of the cycle of operation. Thus,following the wash and/or a rinse phase or stage, the dye fixative maybe removed prior to the end of the cycle of operation. The zetapotential may be changed in the same or a different manner thandescribed above at 704. To facilitate removal of the dye fixative, thestrength of the electrostatic attraction between the dye fixative andlaundry fabric is decreased, which may make it easier to rinse off thedye fixative using a rinse liquid, for example. In one example, thestrength of the electrostatic attraction may be decreased by changingthe zeta potential of the dye fixative back to zero, preferably ±10 mV,to make it easier to rinse away the dye fixative.

FIG. 17B illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the method 700 forfacilitating distribution of a dye fixative on a laundry load in thecontext of a pH tunable dye fixative. In the example illustrated in FIG.17B, the electrostatic interaction between the dye fixative and thefabric surface may be controlled by adjusting the pH of the liquid inwhich the dye fixative is dissolved or suspended in. The method 710 maybegin at 712 with treating the laundry with a pH tunable dye fixative ina treating liquid at a first pH. A pH tunable dye fixative may refer toa polymer whose surface charge changes depending on the pH of thesolution. The first pH may correspond to a pH at which the dye fixativeis minimally charged, i.e. near the isoelectric point of the dyefixative. An exemplary class of pH tunable dye fixatives includespolymers having allylamine, vinylamine, acrylamide, ethylenimine, orlysine based monomers or functional groups, poly(4-vinylpyridine),poly(2-vinylpyridine), poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate),poly(2-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), poly(N,N-diakyl aminoethylmethacrylate), poly(L-lysine), or chitosan.

An example of a suitable pH tunable dye fixative would be a dye fixativehaving a zeta potential of approximately ±10 mV at pH>8 and a zetapotential of greater than 20 mV at pH<6. For this exemplary dyefixative, the treating liquid at 712 may have a pH of approximately 8 orgreater so as to provide a minimally charged or neutral dye fixative, tofacilitate uniform distribution of the dye fixative to the fabricsurface of the laundry, as discussed above.

At 714, the pH of the treating liquid may be decreased to a second pHwhich corresponds to a pH at which the majority of the dye fixative ischarged. This may include adding liquid, such as a detergent, forexample, to the treating liquid to bring the pH down to the second pHor, alternatively, the treating liquid supplied at 712 may be drainedand fresh treating liquid at the desired second pH may be supplied tothe laundry. Alternatively, electrolysis may be used to alter the pH.Electrolysis of the liquid produces an acid aqueous solution and analkaline aqueous solution that may be used to change the pH of the washbath. An example of using electrolysis in a domestic appliance isdisclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0026046 to Sanville, et al., filed Jul.6, 2011, entitled “On Site Generation of Alkalinity Boost for WareWashing Applications,” which is herein incorporated by reference infull. For the exemplary dye fixative described above, the second pH maybe about 6 or less. Decreasing the pH to a value such that the majorityof the dye fixative molecules are charged may facilitate fixing of thedye fixative to the fabric surface, which may promote the inhibition ofdye transfer. The charged dye fixative molecule may have a strongerelectrostatic bond with the fabric surface such that a dye fixative filmor layer is formed on the surface of the fabric that inhibits therelease of dye from the fabric surface.

The laundry may then be washed according to a wash phase of a selectedcycle at 716. The pH of the wash liquid at 716 may be controlled suchthat the pH remains below the first pH. Above the first pH, the dyefixative molecules become uncharged or neutral, decreasing the strengthof the bond between the dye fixative, the fabric surface and the dye,which may increase the amount of dye released from the fabric surface.

Following the laundry wash phase at 716, the laundry may be treated witha rinse liquid having a pH greater or equal to the first pH to againminimize the charge of the dye fixative molecules at 718 to facilitateremoval of the dye fixative from the laundry. Neutralizing the dyefixative molecules in this manner may decrease the strength of theinteraction between the dye fixative and a charged fabric surface, suchas cellulose, making it easier to remove the dye fixative from thesurface of the laundry. Treating the laundry at 718 with a liquid at apH greater than or equal to the first pH may be done multiple timesduring a rinse phase of a cycle of operation or a single time during afinal rinse of the rinse phase. The dye fixative removal phase at 718may be implemented in the presence of dye absorbers to complex withloose dyes in solution to inhibit dye transfer during removal of the dyefixative.

An optional final rinse at 720 may be implemented to bring the pH downto at or below neutral such that the laundry fabrics are notsignificantly alkaline at the end of the cycle to improve the feel ofthe fabric. For example, the final rinse at 720 may include a rinse withfresh water from the water supply.

The pH, ionic strength, temperature and/or pressure to provide a dyefixative with the desired characteristic, such as the desired zetapotential, is based on the dye fixative and characteristics of thetreating liquids used during the cycle of operation and may bedetermined empirically or using one or more formulas. Any combination ofenvironmental characteristics, such as pH, ionic strength, temperatureor pressure may be adjusted to provide the desired zeta potential of thedye fixative and thus provide a desired strength of interaction betweenthe dye fixative and the fabric surface. For example, while the method710 is described in the context of altering the pH, it will beunderstood that the method 710 may also include adjusting the ionicstrength of the liquid at 714 or 718. In addition, while the methods 700and 710 are discussed in the context of changing the zeta potential ofthe dye fixative, it will be understood that the zeta potential of thefabric surface may also be changed in order to facilitate distributionor removal of the dye fixative from the laundry. For example, rinsingthe laundry with a rinse liquid having a high salinity may provide thefabric surface with salt ions which may provide an electrostatic screenor shield to reduce the attraction between the fabric surface and thedye fixative.

FIG. 18 illustrates a method 800 for treating a laundry load with a dyefixative during a wash cycle. The method 800 may be used with the washcycle 10 of FIG. 1 or any other suitable wash cycle. In one example, themethod 800 may be used during the pre-wash phase 14 of the wash cycle10.

Many dye fixatives are charged molecules that interact electrostaticallywith the fabric surface and the dye to fix or retain the dye at thefabric surface. Thus, the presence of dye fixatives on the fabricsurface may provide the fabric surface with a charged layer that mayundesirably attract other substances to the fabric surface. For example,typical dye fixatives for use with cotton fabric and negatively chargedacid or direct dyes are positively charged cationic molecules. When thecationic dye fixatives bond with the fabric surface, the fabric surfacemay present a more positively charged surface than the untreated fabricsurface. This positive charge may attract negatively charged substancesin solution to the fabric surface. For example, many soils arenegatively charged and thus may be attracted to the positively chargeddye fixative layer on the surface of the fabric. This may result insoils that have been lifted from the laundry during washing or soilsthat the laundry comes into contact with during use, depositing on thefabric to a greater extent than if the charged dye fixative layer wasnot present.

The method 800 provides a method by which the charge of a dye fixativelayer present on the fabric surface may be changed or masked so as tominimize the attraction of undesirable substances, such as soils, to thefabric surface. At 802 a dye fixative layer having a first surfacecharge may be formed on the fabric surface. Formation of the dyefixative may be implemented by supplying a dye fixative composition tothe laundry which is electrostatically attracted to one or more fabricsurfaces of the laundry. For example, for cotton fabrics dyed with acidor direct dyes, the dye fixative will likely be a cationic dye fixative.Non-limiting examples of suitable cationic dye fixatives include dyefixatives containing functional groups selected from the groupconsisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines and their salts,and quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts, such as poly diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride (DADMAAC) andpoly(acrylamide-co-diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride), polyacrylamide,and polyethyleneimine. Non-limiting examples of suitable cationic dyefixatives include those available under the trade name Sandofix SWE orWA, Sandolec CS, CL, WS, or CT, and Cartafix WE (all available fromClariant), a cationic methylene guanidine based dye fixative(commercially available under the trade name Retayne™ from G&K CraftIndustries), and those available under the trade name Sera® Fast CT(available from Dystar).

At 804 the surface charge of the fabric dye fixative layer may bemodified to neutralize or change the charge of the fabric dye fixativelayer. Modifying the fabric dye fixative layer may include supplying asurface charge modifying agent having an electrostatic charge oppositethat of the fabric dye fixative layer to the laundry in the treatingchamber. The surface charge modifying agent may be attracted to thefabric-dye fixative layer and preferentially distribute to the fabricsurface. The surface charge modifying agent may be supplied in an amountsufficient to neutralize the charge of the fabric-dye fixative such thatthe overall charge of the fabric surface is near neutral. Alternatively,the amount of surface charge modifying agent may be sufficient toprovide the surface of the fabric with an overall surface charge that isdifferent than surface charge of the fabric in the absence of thesurface charge modifying agent.

In the example in which a cationic dye fixative is applied at 802, thesurface charge modifying agent may be an anionic polymer. Non-limitingexamples of suitable anionic polymers include polymers containingsulfonic or carboxylic groups having a molecular weight above 200 kDaand a zeta potential between 0 to −20 mV in pure solution, althoughother polymers having negatively charged functional groups may also beused. Non-limiting examples of commercially available anionic polymersinclude Syntan, Nylofast® (available from Clariant), and Sera Fast® NHF(available DyStar). The anionic polymers may be supplied such that thesurface charge of the fabric is negative rather than positive. Anegatively charged surface may be more likely to repel or inhibit thedeposition of negatively charged soils compared to a positively chargedcationic dye fixative layer. The anionic polymers may also provide theadditional feature of acting as a dye fixative on acid nylon fabrics.

Alternatively, the surface charge modifying agent may include smallanionic compounds. Non-limiting examples of suitable small anioniccompounds include polymers having functional sulfonate, carboxylateand/or acrylic acid functional groups and having a molecular weightbetween 5-50 kDa. The small anionic compounds may interact with thecationic dye fixative layer on the fabric surface to dissipate thepositive charge on the fabric such that the overall surface charge isnear neutral. The small and polar nature of the anionic agents mayfacilitate more uniform distribution of the anionic agents through thetreating liquid.

Subsequent treatment of the fabric item, such as drying in a clothesdryer following the end of the wash cycle, may be modified based on thetype of surface charge modifying agent applied to the fabric surface.For example, if a sulfonate polymer is used as the surface chargemodifying agent, the subsequent drying cycle should be limited to atemperature below 130° F. The recommended drying temperature may becommunicated to the user through the user interface or may beautomatically communicated by the clothes washer to the dryer, in amanner similar to that described below in method 1500 of FIG. 26.

In yet another example, the surface charge modifying agent may include asaline solution. The saline solution may be supplied to the laundry inthe treating chamber to mask the charge of the dye fixative layer andinterrupt electrostatic attraction between the charged dye fixativelayer on the fabric and charged substances in the treating liquid. Inthe example of direct dyes, these types of dyes often have low washfastness, i.e. are prone to bleeding when washed, because they arenormally present as anionic molecules with the sodium counter-iondissociated in an aqueous solution, such as a wash liquid, whichincreases hydrophilicity of the direct dye, and thus the solubility ofthe dye in the wash liquid. Adding additional sodium ions into thesolution may shift the equilibrium of the system such that less sodiumcounter-ions dissociate from the dye, making the dye molecules have anoverall neutral charge and making the dyes less soluble in the washliquid. The concentration of sodium may vary depending on the amount ofdirect dye in the wash liquid. In one example, the sodium ions may beprovided by adding sodium chloride and/or sodium sulfate at a sodiumconcentration of about 50 g/L.

Additional examples of substances suitable for use as the surface chargemodifying agent include polyelectrolytes capable of forming layer bylayer polymer films, non-limiting examples of which include poly(acrylicacid), poly(methacrylic acid), polyethyleneimine, poly(allylylaminehydrochloride), poly(acryl)amide-2-methyl-propane sulfonate),poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate), poly(styrene sulfonate),poly(N,N,N-trimethyl-2-methacryloyl ethyl ammonium) bromide, poly(vinylsulfate), poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), andpoly(4-vinyl-N-methylpyridinium iodide).

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary dye fixative treatment method 850 fortreating a load of laundry with a cationic dye fixative. The method 850may be implemented as part of the pre-wash phase 14 of the wash cycle10, as part of any other suitable cycle of operation, or as a separatecycle. While the method 850 is described in the context of treatmentwith a cationic dye fixative, it will be understood that the method 850may be implemented in a similar way for treatment with an anionic dyefixative through the use of an appropriate surface charge modifyingagent for anionic dye fixatives.

The method 850 may begin with assuming that the user has loaded a loadof laundry into the treating chamber and selected a cycle of operationthat includes treatment of the laundry with a dye fixative. At 852 thelaundry may be pre-wet with rinse water. The wetting phase at 852 may bethe same as the pre-wetting phase 12 of cycle 10 or different. Asdescribed above, pre-wetting the laundry with water prior to theapplication of the dye fixative may facilitate more uniform distributionof the dye fixative on the fabrics by lowering interfacial drivingforces and reducing a rate of fabric penetration and/or a rate ofattachment of the dye fixative.

At 854 the laundry may be treated with a treating liquid including acationic dye fixative. The amount of cationic dye fixative may be basedon an amount of laundry and/or a type of fabric of the laundry. Anysuitable automatic or manual method for determining an amount and/ortype of fabric of the laundry known in the art or described herein maybe used. Alternatively, the amount of cationic dye fixative may be adefault amount based on the selected cycle of operation or the amount oftreating chemistry provided by the user. Uniform distribution of thecationic dye fixative through the laundry load may further befacilitated by applying mechanical energy to the laundry, such as bytumbling or agitating the laundry load.

At 856, unbound or free cationic dye fixative, i.e. cationic dyefixative that is not bound to the fabric surface, may be removed.Removing the free cationic dye fixative may include draining cationicdye fixative that has collected in the sump of the clothes washer. Thelaundry may be optionally spun at 856 to facilitate extraction of dyefixative from the laundry for collection in the sump and subsequentdraining. Alternatively, fresh water may be added as a rinse prior tospinning and draining.

At 858, the laundry may be treated with a treating liquid including asurface charge modifying agent which may be followed by a draining phasewith optional laundry spin to facilitate extraction of liquid at 860.The amount of surface charge modifying agent to add may be determined ina similar or different manner to the amount of the cationic dye fixativeadded. In one example, the amount of surface charge modifying agent maybe based on the amount of cationic dye fixative supplied to the laundryat 854. Free surface charge modifying agent may be removed at 860 in amanner similar to that described above at 856 for removing the cationicdye fixative. Following removal of free surface charge modifying agent,the cycle of operation may continue to the next phase of the selectedcycle at 862. When the method 850 is used with the pre-wash phase 14 ofthe wash cycle 10, the main wash phase 16 may follow the removal of freesurface charge modifying agent at 860.

In addition to providing dye fixatives to the fabric surface to inhibitdye transfer, it may be desirable under certain circumstances to alsoremove dye fixative from the fabric surface without facilitating dyetransfer. For example, dye fixative may build up on the fabric surfaceover time from multiple treatments with a dye fixative. The dye fixativeon the fabric may attract soils which may give the fabric a dirty ordingy appearance.

In one example, the dye fixative may be configured to release from thefabric surface upon exposure to predetermined conditions. Many dyefixatives are surfactants containing a positively charged head group andnon-polar tail. A surfactant-based dye fixative may include a fatty acidtail that has a low melting temperature such that when heated in a dryeror treated with hot water, the dye fixative melts out of the fabricsurface. Alternatively, the dye fixative may include a pH sensitive headgroup which changes it charge under certain pH conditions, which maypromote partitioning of the dye fixative away from the surface. The pHof the treating liquid may be changed at a predetermined point in thecycle to trigger the pH sensitive head group of the dye fixative tochange its charge and release from the fabric surface.

In another example, the dye fixatives may be actively removed from thesurface of the fabric, such as by using nanoparticles to shear off orremove at least a portion of the fixative such that the dye fixativereleases from the fabric surface. Alternatively, enzymes may beintroduced which may alter the fabric surface such that the dye fixativereleases from the fabric. In yet another example, the fabric surface maybe excessively charged to repel the dye fixative from the fabricsurface, such as by adding salts, such as sodium chloride.

The removal of the dye fixative may be performed at the end of a cycleto remove dye fixative applied in the present cycle and additional dyefixative which may have remained on the fabric after preceding cycles.Alternatively, the dye fixative may be removed at the beginning of acycle, such as during a pre-wash phase, for example, The dye fixativemay be removed at the beginning of the cycle to provide a relatively dyefixative-free fabric surface which may be subsequently treated withadditional dye fixative. In this manner, the amount of dye fixative onthe fabric surface may be controlled and limited, inhibiting thebuild-up of dye fixative on the fabric surface over time.

FIG. 20 illustrates a method 1000 for treating new laundry items. Asused herein a new laundry item refers to a laundry item that is beingwashed by the user for the first time. The new laundry item may be anunused laundry item or a used laundry item that has not been previouslywashed by the user. The method 1000 may be used for treating a singlelaundry item, multiple new laundry items or a combination of new laundryitems and previously washed laundry items.

The method 1000 begins at 1002 with receipt by the clothes washercontroller of an input indicative of a new laundry item for treatment bythe clothes washer. The input may include a user selecting the newlaundry item cycle or indicating the load contains a new laundry itemthrough the user interface. Alternatively, the controller may receivethe input when a new laundry item is detected by the clothes washer. Anew laundry item may be detected optically, through radio frequency, orbased on one or more predetermined conditions being met. Opticaldetection may include optically scanning a label provided on the laundryitem, such as a bar code, detecting absorbance and/or transmittance oflight emitted from a light source, or taking an image or video of thelaundry item. Radio frequency detection may include receipt ofinformation from an RFID tag provided on the laundry item by a suitableRFID reader provided on the clothes washer. Certain conditions, such asselection of a small load cycle or detection of a small load amount mayalso indicate a new laundry item.

Upon receipt of the input indicative of a new laundry item, thecontroller may automatically initiate a new laundry item cycle or promptthe user to select a new laundry item cycle. At 1004, the new laundryitem cycle may begin and a treatment may be supplied based on theselected new laundry item cycle. At 1006 a wash and/or a rinse phase maybe modified. At 1008 the clothes washer may optionally provide feedbackto a user regarding an outcome of the “New Garment” cycle orrecommendations for further laundry item care.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary method 1020 for treating new laundryitems in a first wash cycle for a dyed laundry item. When a user goes towash a new laundry item for the first time, there may be concern as towhether the new laundry item will bleed. In some cases a user will optto wash the laundry item alone the first time as a precaution to avoidpotentially ruining other laundry items with dye transferred from thenew laundry item. In other cases, a user may inadvertently wash the newlaundry item with other laundry items and dye may transfer from the newlaundry item to the other laundry items in the load, potentially ruiningthese other laundry items. Some laundry items are over-dyed and maybleed the first few times they are washed, but after the first fewwashes, little to no additional bleeding may occur.

The method 1020 may be used to provide a user with information as towhether a new laundry item is suitable for washing with mixed loads orshould be washed alone and optionally to provide a treatment to inhibitdye transfer.

The method 1020 may begin at 1022 with receipt by the controller of aninput indicative of a new laundry item, as described above at 1002 ofthe method 1000 of FIG. 17. While the method 1020 is described in thecontext of a single item, it will be understood that the method 1020 maybe used with multiple items. If multiple items are treated at the sametime according to the method 1020, the multiple items should besimilarly colored, such as multiple jeans, to avoid an undesirable dyetransfer event.

At 1024 an optional dye transfer inhibitor may be supplied to thelaundry item. The dye transfer inhibitor may be a dye fixative that maybe supplied to the laundry item according to any of the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, the dye fixative may be applied as thetemperature of the treating liquid is increased. Increasing thetemperature may facilitate distribution of the dye fixative on thefabric surface of the laundry item, increase complexing of the dyefixative and fabric, and also facilitate bleeding of loose dyes whichmay be subsequently drained away. At the end of the dye fixative supplyphase, unabsorbed dye fixative may be removed by draining treatingliquid collected in the sump and optionally spinning the laundry itemsto extract treating liquid.

At 1026, the laundry item may be washed according to a modified washphase. Because the laundry items are new items, it may be assumed thatthey are not heavily soiled and thus removing soils is not a primaryconcern during the wash phase at 1026, and the wash phase 1026 maytherefore be quicker than a normal wash phase. The wash phase at 1026may include supplying a laundry detergent composition and an additive ata predetermined concentration and at a predetermined temperature tofacilitate removal of loose dyes from the laundry item. For example, thelaundry detergent composition may be supplied to the laundry such thatthe concentration of surfactants is below the CMC to facilitate removalof loose or excess dye. The additive may be a dye absorber which mayfurther facilitate removal of loose dyes. The laundry item may also betumbled or agitated to facilitate releasing loose dyes from the surfaceof the laundry item through mechanical action. Because not all dyes areremoved using the same methods, a combination of dye fixative, laundrydetergent concentration, temperature, dye absorbers and mechanicalaction may be used to facilitate removal of loose/excess dye across abroader range of dye and fabric types.

At 1028 the laundry item may be rinsed according to one or more rinsephases. A presence of a dye in the rinse liquid may be determined at1030 within the treating chamber, which may also include liquid that waspreviously in the treating chamber. Dye in the rinse liquid may beconsidered released dye in that the dye is no longer associated with alaundry item, but is present in solution in the rinse liquid. A suitablesensor system may be provided for determining the presence of a dye inthe rinse liquid, non-limiting examples of which include optical sensorsystems which may be used to perform UV/Vis absorbance/fluorescencespectroscopy or a conductivity sensor. For example, a UV/Visabsorbance/fluorescence system may provide an output representative of asensed spectral absorbance and/or fluorescence of the treating liquid.It will also be understood that when referring to absorbance herein,transmittance, which is related to absorbance, may be used as analternative to absorbance or in order to determine the absorbance. Thesensor system may output a signal indicative of a presence of dye,including an amount of dye, in the rinse liquid. The sensor system maysense the dye and output the signal continuously or intermittentlythroughout the rinse phase 1028 or at one or more predetermined stagesof the rinse phase 1028, such as the end of the final rinse, forexample.

The controller may receive the output signal indicative of the presenceof a dye from the sensor system and determine whether the output signalsatisfies a predetermined threshold at 1032. This may include comparingthe Abs/F characteristic to a predetermined reference value that may bea range of reference values, an upper threshold or a lower threshold. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 21, the threshold is an upper threshold. If theoutput signal does not satisfy the threshold, the controller maydetermine at 1034 that the laundry item is suitable for washing withmixed loads in an un-sorted wash cycle and provide feedback to the userthrough the user interface that the laundry item may be washed in mixedloads in future wash cycles. In this manner the output signal mayindicate a dye inhibited condition.

The cycle may then be completed at 1038. Optionally, at 1042, a dyefixative may be supplied to the laundry item to facilitate inhibitingdye transfer in a future wash cycle and/or during use. The term“satisfies” the threshold is used herein to mean that the variationsatisfies the predetermined threshold, such as being equal to, lessthan, or greater than the threshold value. It will be understood thatsuch a determination may easily be altered to be satisfied by apositive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. For example, aless than threshold value can easily be satisfied by applying a greaterthan test when the data is numerically inverted.

If the output signal does satisfy the threshold, the controller maydetermine at 1036 that dye is present in the rinse liquid and that thelaundry item is not ready for washing with mixed loads and should bewashed in a sorted wash cycle. In this manner the output signal mayindicate a non-inhibited condition, which may indicate that the laundryis not dye stable, i.e. dye may transfer from the laundry item to othersurfaces during laundering and/or use. The method then returns to 1026to repeat the modified wash phase 1026, rinse phase 1028 and determiningthe presence of dye in the wash liquid at 1030. The controller may beprogrammed to repeat the steps 1026, 1028, 1030 and 1032 a predeterminedn number of times. If it is determined that dye has been determined tobe present greater than n number of times at 1036, the cycle may end at1038 and the controller may provide feedback to the user at 1040 thatthe laundry item should not be washed with mixed loads. For many laundryitems, washing a predetermined number of times, usually around 3, issufficient to remove enough loose dye to decrease the risk of a dyetransfer event to an acceptable level. However, if a laundry itemcontinues to bleed dye after multiple washings, the method 1020 may becompleted and the user may be provided with feedback as to the dyetransfer status of the laundry item. Optionally, at 1044, a dye fixativemay be supplied to the laundry item to facilitate inhibiting dyetransfer in a future wash cycle and/or during use.

The feedback provided to the user at 1034 and 1040 may be providedthrough text communicated through a user interface or with one or moreilluminated indicators. For example, the user interface may be providedwith a ready for mixed loads indicator which is illuminated green whenthe laundry item is ready for washing with mixed loads and red when thelaundry item is not ready for washing with mixed loads. In anotherexample, the user interface may communicate whether the laundry item isready for washing with mixed loads and other additional careinformation, such as recommendations for further treatments.

In another example, the method 1020 may be configured for use intreating jeans, which are typically dyed with vat dyes. Rather thanadding a dye fixative at 1024, an oxidizing agent may be added duringthe wash phase 1026 to facilitate oxidation of any unoxidized vat dyesand render them water insoluble, which may increase their wash fastnessand decrease dye transfer. The method 1020 for use with jeans may beprovided to the user as a cycle option when the user selects ajeans-only cycle.

While the method 1020 is described as including a dye determinationprocess, the method 1020 may be used in a similar manner withoutdetermining the presence of dye. For example, the wash and rinse phases1026 and 1028 may be repeated a predetermined number of times that maybe set automatically by the controller or selected by the user.

FIG. 22 illustrates another exemplary method 1050 for treating newlaundry items in a first wash cycle. The method 1050 may be used withnew laundry items to remove treatments or finishes from the items or toapply additional treatments or finishes to the items that are moresuitable for applying to laundry items that have not been worn or used.For example, the method 1050 may be used to remove a sizing agent fromthe laundry, if desired by the user, prior to wearing or using thelaundry item. In another example, the method 1050 may be used to apply astain repellant finish to the laundry item. The application of a stainrepellant may lock-in stains present on the laundry item and thus it ispreferable to apply a stain repellant prior to wearing or using thegarment. However, some consumers wear or use the item before washing theitem for the first time. Thus, as will be described below, the method1050 may include a wash phase prior to the application of the stainrepellant to remove soils or stains that may have occurred prior to thefirst wash.

The method 1050 may begin at 1052 with receipt by the controller of aninput indicative of a new laundry item as described above at 1002 of themethod 1000 of FIG. 20. While the method 1050 is described in thecontext of a single item, it will be understood that the method 1050 maybe used with multiple items.

The method 1050 may include a main wash phase 1056 and a rinse phasecomprising one or more rinses at 1062 which may be modified based on atreating agent supplied to the laundry items during one or more offirst, second and/or third treatment supply phases 1054, 1058, and 1060.While three treatment supply phases are illustrated, it will beunderstood that more treatment phases may be used depending on thetreatment to be applied.

In one example, the method 1050 may be used to remove a sizing agentfrom a new laundry item. Some users may deem the presence of a sizingagent on the laundry item as undesirable. For removal of a sizing agent,the main wash phase 1056 may include providing mechanical action, suchas tumbling or agitation, and a wash liquid at a predeterminedtemperature and including a laundry detergent composition at apredetermined concentration to facilitate removal of the sizing agent.The second and optionally third treatment supply phases 1058 and 1060may include additional mechanical action and application of wash liquidconfigured to facilitate removal of the sizing agent. For example, thewash liquid may be heated to the highest recommended temperature forthat item and/or the concentration of a laundry detergent in the washliquid may be increased to 1-3 times the recommended dosage. Because thelaundry item is new, soil removal is not the primary concern and thewash phase 1056 and treatment phases 1058 and 1060 may be configured tooptimize removal of the sizing agent rather than the removal of soil andstains, as in a typical normal wash cycle.

In another example, the method 1050 may be used to provide the newlaundry item with a fabric finish. In this example, the main wash 1056may include providing mechanical action, such as tumbling or agitation,and a wash liquid at a predetermined temperature and including a laundrydetergent composition at a predetermined concentration. The main washphase 1056 may be a quick or light wash phase because the laundry itemis new and therefore does not likely have a high degree of soiling orstaining. At 1058 one or more fabric finish treating agents may besupplied to the laundry item. The fabric finish agents may be suppliedat a predetermined concentration and temperature depending on the agent.The fabric finish agent may be supplied at a high concentration in a lowwater volume with circulation to facilitate distribution of the fabricfinish agent.

In one example, the fabric finish agent supplied in the second supplytreatment 1058 may prepare the laundry item for a fabric finish agentsupplied in the third supply treatment phase 1060. The second and/orthird treatment supply phases 1058 and 1060 may include a temperatureramp profile that may activate or set the fabric finish. Alternatively,or in addition, the user may be provided with feedback at 1064 through auser interface to set/activate the finish in a high heat cycle in aclothes dryer at the end of the wash cycle. In yet another example, theclothes washer may communicate the recommended temperature settingautomatically to the dryer.

Non-limiting examples of fabric finish agents that may be suppliedduring the treatment supply phases 1058, 1060 include stain repellants,UV blockers, soil release agents, insect repellant, flame retardant,water repellant, moisture wicking refresh agents, wrinkle release agentsand wrinkle repellants.

In yet another example, the method 1050 may be used to treat a newlaundry item that is being wash for the first time by the user, but mayhave been previously owned/used, such as used clothing purchased from asecond-hand or thrift shop or yard sale. At 1056, the laundry items maybe washed in the main wash phase to remove soils and stains by applyingmechanical action and a wash liquid containing a laundry detergentcomposition. At 1058 a treatment composition comprising an enzyme, suchas cellulase, may be supplied to the laundry. The cellulase may act as afabric polisher, removing pilling, which may rehabilitate the appearanceof the laundry item and make it look “newer”.

The feedback provided to the user at 1064 may be provided through textcommunicated through a user interface or with one or more illuminatedindicators. For example, the user interface may be provided with anindicator that changes color depending on the status of the treatment.In another example, the user interface may communicate care information,such as recommendations for further treatments. For example, the userinterface may recommend dryer settings or future wash settings for theitem.

Often, after fabric articles are washed, a user then dries the fabricarticles. This may be problematic if dye has been transferred during thewashing of the fabric articles as the drying may thermoset thetransferred dye on the fabric articles, given the drying temperatures ofcontemporary clothes dryers. FIG. 23 illustrates one example of aclothes dryer 1100, which includes a cabinet 1112 in which may beprovided a controller 1114 that may receive input from a user through auser interface 1116 for selecting a cycle of operation and controllingthe operation of the clothes dryer 1100 to implement the selected cycleof operation. The user interface 1116 may be operably coupled with thecontroller 1114 and may provide an input and output function for thecontroller 1114. The cabinet 1112 may be defined by a front wall 1118, arear wall 1120, and a pair of side walls 1122 supporting a top wall1124. A chassis may be provided with the walls being panels mounted tothe chassis. A door 1126 may be hingedly mounted to the front wall 1118and may be selectively movable between opened and closed positions toclose an opening in the front wall 1118, which provides access to theinterior of the cabinet 1112.

A rotatable drum 1128 may be disposed within the interior of the cabinet1112 between opposing stationary front and rear bulkheads 1130, 1132,which, along with the door 1126, collectively define a treating chamber1134 for receiving fabric items for treatment. As illustrated, and asmay be the case with most clothes dryers, the treating chamber 1134 maynot be fluidly coupled with a drain. Thus, any liquid introduced intothe treating chamber 1134 may not be removed merely by draining.

The drum 1128 may include at least one lifter 1129. In most dryers,there may be multiple lifters 1129. The lifters 1129 may be locatedalong an inner surface of the drum 1128 defining an interiorcircumference of the drum 1128. The lifters may facilitate movement ofthe laundry 1136 within the drum 1128 as the drum 1128 rotates.

The drum 1128 may be operably coupled with an actuator in the form of amotor 1154 to selectively rotate the drum 1128 during a cycle ofoperation. The coupling of the motor 1154 to the drum 1128 may be director indirect. As illustrated, an indirect coupling may include a belt1156 coupling an output shaft of the motor 1154 to a wheel/pulley on thedrum 1128. A direct coupling may include the output shaft of the motor1154 coupled with a hub of the drum 1128.

An air flow system may be provided to the clothes dryer 1100. The airflow system supplies air to the treating chamber 1134 and exhausts airfrom the treating chamber 1134. The supplied air may be heated or not.The air flow system may have an air supply portion that may form, inpart, a supply conduit 1138, which has one end open to ambient air via arear vent 1137 and another end fluidly coupled with an inlet grill 1140,which may be in fluid communication with the treating chamber 1134. Aheater 1142 may lie within the supply conduit 1138 and may be operablycoupled with and controlled by the controller 1114. If the heater 1142may be turned on, the supplied air will be heated prior to entering thedrum 1128.

The air flow system may further include an air exhaust portion that maybe formed in part by an exhaust conduit 1144. A lint trap 1145 may beprovided as the inlet from the treating chamber 1134 to the exhaustconduit 1144. An actuator in the form of a blower 1146 may be fluidlycoupled with the exhaust conduit 1144. The blower 1146 may be operablycoupled with and controlled by the controller 1114. Operation of theblower 1146 draws air into the treating chamber 1134 as well as exhaustsair from the treating chamber 1134 through the exhaust conduit 1144. Theexhaust conduit 1144 may be fluidly coupled with a household exhaustduct (not shown) for exhausting the air from the treating chamber 1134to the outside of the clothes dryer 1100.

The air flow system may further include various sensors and othercomponents, such as a thermistor 1147 and a thermostat 1148, which maybe coupled with the supply conduit 1138 in which the heater 1142 may bepositioned. The thermistor 1147 and the thermostat 1148 may be operablycoupled with each other. Alternatively, the thermistor 1147 may becoupled with the supply conduit 1138 at or near to the inlet grill 1140.Regardless of its location, the thermistor 1147 may be used to aid indetermining an inlet temperature. A thermistor 1151 and a thermal fuse1149 may be coupled with the exhaust conduit 1144, with the thermistor1151 being used to determine an outlet air temperature.

A moisture sensor 1150 may be positioned in the interior of the treatingchamber 1134 to monitor the amount of moisture of the laundry in thetreating chamber 1134. One example of a moisture sensor 1150 may be aconductivity strip. The moisture sensor 1150 may be operably coupledwith the controller 1114 such that the controller 1114 receives outputfrom the moisture sensor 1150. The moisture sensor 1150 may be mountedat any location in the interior of the dryer 1100 such that the moisturesensor 1150 may be able to accurately sense the moisture content of thelaundry. For example, the moisture sensor 1150 may be coupled with oneof the bulkheads 1130, 1132 of the drying chamber 1134 by any suitablemeans.

A dispensing system 1157 may be provided to the clothes dryer 1100 todispense one or more treating chemistries to the treating chamber 1134according to a cycle of operation. As illustrated, the dispensing system1157 may be located in the interior of the cabinet 1112 although otherlocations are also possible. The dispensing system 1157 may be fluidlycoupled with a water supply 1168. The dispensing system 1157 may befurther coupled with the treating chamber 1134 through one or morenozzles 1169. As illustrated, nozzles 1169 are provided to the front andrear of the treating chamber 1134 to provide the treating chemistry orliquid to the interior of the treating chamber 1134, although otherconfigurations are also possible. The number, type, and placement of thenozzles 1169 are not germane to the invention.

As illustrated, the dispensing system 1157 may include a reservoir 1160,which may be a cartridge, for a treating chemistry that may bereleasably coupled with the dispensing system 1157, which dispenses thetreating chemistry from the reservoir 1160 to the treating chamber 1134.The reservoir 1160 may include one or more cartridges configured tostore one or more treating chemistries in the interior of thecartridges. A mixing chamber 1162 may be provided to couple thereservoir 1160 to the treating chamber 1134 through a supply conduit1163. Pumps such as a metering pump 1164 and delivery pump 1166 may beprovided to the dispensing system 1157 to selectively supply a treatingchemistry and/or liquid to the treating chamber 1134 according to acycle of operation. The water supply 1168 may be fluidly coupled withthe mixing chamber 1162 to provide water from the water source to themixing chamber 1162. The water supply 1168 may include an inlet valve1170 and a water supply conduit 1172. It may be noted that, instead ofwater, a different treating chemistry may be provided from the exteriorof the clothes dryer 1100 to the mixing chamber 1162.

The treating chemistry may be any type of aid for treating laundry,non-limiting examples of which include, but are not limited to, water,fabric softeners, sanitizing agents, de-wrinkling or anti-wrinklingagents, and chemicals for imparting desired properties to the laundry,including stain resistance, fragrance (e.g., perfumes), insectrepellency, and UV protection.

The clothes dryer 1100 may also be provided with a steam generatingsystem 1180, which may be separate from the dispensing system 1157 orintegrated with portions of the dispensing system 1157 for dispensingsteam and/or liquid to the treating chamber 1134 according to a cycle ofoperation. The steam generating system 1180 may include a steamgenerator 1182 fluidly coupled with the water supply 168 through a steaminlet conduit 1184. A fluid control valve 1185 may be used to controlthe flow of water from the water supply conduit 1172 between the steamgenerating system 1180 and the dispensing system 1157. The steamgenerator 1182 may further be fluidly coupled with the one or moresupply conduits 1163 through a steam supply conduit 1186 to deliversteam to the treating chamber 1134 through the nozzles 1169.Alternatively, the steam generator 1182 may be coupled with the treatingchamber 1134 through one or more conduits and nozzles independently ofthe dispensing system 1157.

The steam generator 1182 may be any type of device that converts thesupplied liquid to steam. For example, the steam generator 1182 may be atank-type steam generator that stores a volume of liquid and heats thevolume of liquid to convert the liquid to steam. Alternatively, thesteam generator 1182 may be an in-line steam generator that converts theliquid to steam as the liquid flows through the steam generator 1182.

It will be understood that the details of the dispensing system 1157 andsteam generating system 1180 are not germane to the embodiments of theinvention and that any suitable dispensing system and/or steamgenerating system may be used with the clothes dryer 1100. It may alsowithin the scope of an embodiment of the invention for the clothes dryer1100 to not include a dispensing system or a steam generating system.

FIG. 24 is a schematic view of the controller 1114 coupled with thevarious components of the clothes dryer 1100. The controller 1114 may becommunicably coupled with components of the clothes dryer 1100 such asthe heater 1142, blower 1146, thermistor 1147, thermostat 1148, thermalfuse 1149, thermistor 1151, moisture sensor 1150, motor 1154, inletvalve 1710, pumps 1164, 1166, steam generator 1182 and fluid controlvalve 1185 to either control these components and/or receive their inputfor use in controlling the components. The controller 1114 may also beoperably coupled with the user interface 1116 to receive input from theuser through the user interface 1116 for the implementation of thedrying cycle and provide the user with information regarding the dryingcycle. For example, the user interface 1116 may receive information froma user that a dye transfer event has occurred and may provide anindication of a dye transfer event to the controller 1114. The userinterface 1116 may be provided having operational controls such asdials, lights, knobs, levers, buttons, switches, and displays enablingthe user to input commands to a controller 1114 and receive informationabout a treatment cycle from components in the clothes dryer 1100 or viainput by the user through the user interface 1116. The user may entermany different types of information, including, without limitation,cycle selection and cycle parameters, such as cycle options as well asinformation regarding the load to be dried including the type of laundryand the type of dye transferred. Any suitable cycle may be used.Non-limiting examples include, Casual, Delicate, Super Delicate, HeavyDuty, Normal Dry, Damp Dry, Sanitize, Quick Dry, Timed Dry, and Jeans.

The controller 1114 may also be communicably coupled with a datacommunicator 1190 for receiving information from a washing machine andoutputting information to the controller 1114. For example, the datacommunicator 1190 may provide an indication of a dye transfer event tothe controller 1114. The data communicator 1190 may wirelesslycommunicate with the washing machine and/or may be hard-wired tocommunicate with the washing machine. The wireless communication may beany variety of communication mechanism capable of wirelessly linkingwith other systems and devices and may include, but is not limited to,packet radio, satellite uplink, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), WiMax,Bluetooth, ZigBee, 3G wireless signal, code division multiple access(CDMA) wireless signal, global system for mobile communication (GSM), 4Gwireless signal, long term evolution (LTE) signal, Ethernet, or anycombinations thereof. It will also be understood that the particulartype or mode of wireless communication is not critical to thisinvention, and later-developed wireless networks are certainlycontemplated as within the scope of embodiments of this invention.Alternatively, the data communicator 1190 may be incorporated into thecontroller 1114 such that the washing machine may be communicablycoupled with the controller 1114.

The controller 1114 may implement a treatment cycle of operationselected by the user according to any options selected by the user andprovide related information to the user. The controller 1114 may alsoinclude a central processing unit (CPU) 1174 and an associated memory1176 where a set of executable instructions comprising at least oneuser-selectable cycle of operation may be stored. One or more softwareapplications, such as an arrangement of executable commands/instructionsmay be stored in the memory and executed by the CPU 1174 to implementthe one or more treatment cycles of operation.

In general, the controller 1114 will effect a cycle of operation toeffect a treating of the laundry in the treating chamber 1134, which mayor may not include drying. The controller 1114 may actuate the blower1146 to draw an inlet air flow 1158 into the supply conduit 1138 throughthe rear vent 1137 when air flow may be needed for a selected treatingcycle. The controller 1114 may activate the heater 1142 to heat theinlet air flow 1158 as it passes over the heater 1142, with the heatedair 1159 being supplied to the treating chamber 1134. The heated air1159 may be in contact with a laundry load 1136 as it passes through thetreating chamber 1134 on its way to the exhaust conduit 1144 to effect amoisture removal of the laundry. The heated air 1159 may exit thetreating chamber 1134, and flow through the blower 1146 and the exhaustconduit 1144 to the outside of the clothes dryer 1100. The controller1114 continues the cycle of operation until completed. If the cycle ofoperation includes drying, the controller 1114 determines when thelaundry may be dry. The determination of a “dry” load may be made indifferent ways, but may be often based on the moisture content of thelaundry, which may be typically set by the user based on the selectedcycle, an option to the selected cycle, or a user-defined preference.

Further, the controller 1114 may receive an indication of a dye transferevent for the laundry to be dried from the user interface 1116 or thedata communicator 1190. Based on such a determination, the controller1114 may control operation of one or more specific drying actions orcycles based on the determined dye transfer event to limit any damage tothe fabric items that the transferred dye may cause. For example, thecontroller 1114 may control operation of the blower 1146, the heater1142, and the operation of the rotatable drum 1128 based on thedetermined dye transfer event. The controller 1114 may also beconfigured to provide an indication on the user interface 1116 of thedetermined dye transfer event.

FIG. 25 illustrates a method 1300 for determining a dye transfer eventand controlling operation of the clothes dryer based thereon. Morespecifically, the method begins at 1302 by the controller 1114 receivingas an input an indication of a dye transfer event for the laundry to bedried. For example, the controller 1114 may receive an indication fromthe user interface 1116 when a user inputs that the dye transfer eventhas occurred. A washing machine used to wash the laundry may alert theuser to the dye transfer or the user may notice that dye hastransferred. The washing machine may also indicate to the user to selecta specific dryer cycle, including for example a delicate cycle or dyetransfer cycle, or may indicate to the user to select a specifictemperature or dryness level. Alternatively, the controller 1114 mayreceive a communication from a washing machine that the dye transferevent has occurred. For example, clothes washer 50, 450 and 2050 may allbe configured to communicate that a dye transfer event has occurred.Such a communication is described in more detail below with respect tomethod 1500. It will be understood that such an indication of a dyetransfer event may be received via the data communicator 1190 from thewashing machine and that the data communicator 1190 may provide anindication of the dye transfer event to the controller 1114.Alternatively, the controller 1114 may be configured to receive theindication directly from the washing machine. Regardless of whether thedata communicator 1190 or the controller is communicably coupled withthe washing machine, it will be understood that the communication withthe washing machine may be a wireless communication and/or a hard-wiredcommunication.

After a dye transfer event has been indicated at 1302, the controller1114 may control the implementation of the automatic cycle of operationof the clothes dryer based on the indication of the dye transfer event.This may include the controller 1114 implementing one or more specificdrying actions or cycles, which may include, among other things,selecting a specific cycle of operation, setting one or more parametersof the cycle of operation, including keeping the drying temperaturebelow the dye set or thermoset temperature, skipping or adding a phaseto the cycle of operation, terminating the cycle of operation, andadding a treating chemistry to prevent the dye from setting. Forexample, a specific dye transfer cycle may be utilized to limit thedrying of the fabric items so that the transferred dye does notthermoset. The implementation of the one or more specific drying actionsor cycles may occur regardless of what cycle of operation is selected bya user on the user interface 1116. For example, a user may select agentle dry cycle and the controller 1114 will instead operate theclothes dryer 1100 under the dye transfer cycle. Alternatively, thecontroller 1114 may limit the user from selecting any alternative cyclesor drying actions such the one or more specific drying actions or cyclesmay be the only options allowed for the user to select.

By way of non-limiting example, controlling the implementation of theautomatic cycle of operation of the clothes dryer 1100 includingspecific drying actions or cycles may include limiting temperaturesduring the cycle of operation. This may include limiting the dryingtemperature within the treating chamber 1134 to below 140° F. Forexample, the cycle of operation may be executed such that temperatureswithin the rotatable drum 1128 do not exceed 135° F. By way of furtherexample, this may include utilizing drying temperatures between 115° F.and 125° F. for a first half of the cycle of operation or until theresidual moisture content (RMC) of the fabric items is determined to beabout 30% and then utilizing drying temperatures between 95° F. and 105°F. from that point until the end of the cycle. Further, controllingoperation of the clothes dryer 1100 may include limiting drynessachieved during the cycle of operation. Typical cycles end when the RMCreaches between two and four percent. Limiting the dryness during theimplemented cycle where a dye transfer has been indicated may includeending the cycle of operation when the RMC reaches between 10% and 18%.Further still, controlling operation of the clothes dryer 1100 mayinclude adjusting a rotation profile of a drum of the clothes dryer.This may include lowering the revolutions per minute of the rotatabledrum 1128, limiting the time spent tumbling, not tumbling, etc. Any ofthe above or any combination of the above may avoid hot spots within theload and over drying, either of which may thermoset transferred dye.

It will be understood that the method may be flexible and that themethod 1300 illustrated is merely for illustrative purposes. Forexample, the method may include indicating, on a user interface of theclothes dryer, information related to the dye where the informationincludes at least one of: at least one action taken by the clothes dryerin response to the determined dye transfer event, at least oneconsequence of the at least one action taken by the clothes dryer, orindicating on the user interface that the dye transfer event has beendetermined. It is also contemplated that the input received by thecontroller 1114 may include information related to a type of dyetransferred and/or a type of laundry to be dried. Based on suchadditional information the controller 1114 may be configured to controla drying temperature of the clothes dryer to be below a thermosettemperature and such a thermoset temperature may be determined based onthe type of dye transferred and/or the type of laundry.

As briefly described above, the method may include communicating with aclothes washer to determine if a dye transfer event has occurred. FIG.26 illustrates a method 1500 for communicating dye transfer informationbetween a clothes washer and clothes dryer and controlling operation ofthe clothes dryer based on the communicated dye transfer information.The operation of the clothes dryer may then be controlled to minimizefurther dye transfer or thermosetting of any transferred dye.

The method 1500 may begin with assuming that laundry has been loadedinto the clothes washer and is being treated according to a selectedcycle of operation. At 1502 the presence of a dye transfer event may bedetermined. A dye transfer event may be determined automatically by theclothes washer or the clothes washer may determine a dye transfer eventmanually based on user input. For example, the user may provideinformation to the clothes washer through the user interface thatidentifies an item of the load as known for dye bleeding and/oridentifies an item of the load as new and/or brightly or deeply colored,which may be suspected of bleeding. Alternatively, the user may identifyan item of the load as being new and/or of unknown dye bleeding statusthat the user would like the clothes washer and/or dryer to treat as ifa dye transfer event occurred as a precaution.

Alternatively, a dye transfer event may be determined automatically oneor more times at predetermined points in the cycle of operation. Thedetermination may be done continuously or intermittently through theentire cycle of operation or during one or more phases of the cycle ofoperation. In one example, the color of the wash liquid at differentstages of the wash phase of a cycle or at the end of the wash phase maybe determined using a suitable sensor system, such as a UV/Visabsorbance system, for example, to determine whether the color of thewash liquid or a change in color of the wash liquid indicates that a dyetransfer event has occurred. In another example, the use of dyefixatives and/or absorbers in the cycle, either automatically or basedon manual input by a user, may be used to determine that a dye transferevent has occurred.

In yet another example, the fabric item may include a label thatcommunicates dye-related information with the clothes washer. The fabricitem may include an RFID tag or a barcode that is readable by a suitablereader provided on the clothes washer. The label may communicateinformation such as the type of dye(s) present in the fabric item andthe clothes washer controller may be programmed to determine whether thedye(s) are likely to result in a dye transfer event.

The dye transfer event information may be communicated with the dryer at1504 through an appropriate connection between the clothes washer andthe dryer or wirelessly, such as through Bluetooth, for example, asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 24. In this manner the washingmachine may provide an indication to the dryer that a dye transfer eventhas occurred and the dryer may control or modify a subsequent dryingcycle based on the indicated dye transfer event information at 1506.

Similarly to the method 1300 described above, controlling the dryingcycle may include controller the implementation of the cycle ofoperation based on the indication of the dye transfer event includingmodifying the drying cycle such that the temperature remains at thelowest setting for that drying cycle, modifying the dryness end pointfor the selected drying cycle to minimize heating of the fabrics at theend of the cycle, and/or modifying the drum rotation profile for theselected drying cycle to provide minimal agitation so as to notfacilitate further dye transfer. Heating the fabrics at too high of atemperature and/or for too long during a drying cycle may thermoset dyethat has transferred during the preceding wash cycle, which may preventremoval of the transferred dye in a subsequent wash cycle. In oneexample, receipt of a dye transfer event by the dryer may cause thedryer to prompt the user to select a predetermined dye transfer cyclewhich includes one or more of these cycle modifications.

FIG. 27 illustrates a method 1600 for inhibiting dye transfer in a washcycle without the use of dye fixatives or dye absorbers by controllingsurface tension gradients on the fabric surface of the laundry.

The method 1600 may begin by assuming that a user has loaded laundryinto the treating chamber and selected a cycle of operation. At 1602,the laundry may be pre-wet with water only. In one example, the pre-wetphase may be implemented as described above for the pre-wetting phase 12of the cycle 10. Pre-wetting the fabrics may reduce the interfacialtension between a wash liquid and the fabric surface when a wash liquidis supplied to the laundry. Reducing the interfacial tension may reducesurfactant penetration onto the laundry and thus reduce dye bleedingfrom the fabric. In a laundry detergent composition, surfactants maypenetrate the fabric and lift dyes from the fabric surface. Anionicsurfactants have been found to lift direct and acid dyes and nonionicsurfactants have been found to lift disperse dyes. Reducing the drivingforce of surfactants to the fabric surface by pre-wetting the fabric mayreduce this surfactant-induced dye bleeding.

Following pre-wetting of the laundry at 1602, the laundry may be treatedwith a laundry detergent composition at a concentration such that thesurfactants are present at concentrations slightly above their CMC.Surfactants at concentrations above the CMC may provide surfactantmicelles capable of absorbing dye released from the fabric surface toinhibit dye transfer. The concentration of the surfactant may becontrolled and/or monitored in a manner similar to that described abovewith respect to method 600 of FIG. 15. In one example, the concentrationof the laundry detergent may be controlled by controlling the dosage ofthe detergent and/or controlling an amount of water supplied to thetreating chamber with the detergent. If the surfactant concentration istoo high above the CMC, at 1606 additional water may be added to dilutethe surfactant concentration and the cycle may continue at 1608. Thepre-wetting at 1602 and treating with laundry detergent at 1604 may beimplemented at cold water temperatures and with minimal mechanicalaction to further inhibit dye transfer.

FIG. 28 illustrates a method 1700 for removing dye fixative from laundryitems. Dye fixatives, in particular cationic dye fixatives, on laundrymay attract soils, which are often negatively charged, in the washliquor during a wash cycle and during use of the laundry item afterlaundering. The electrostatic attraction between the cationic dyefixative and negatively charged soil may make the soil difficult toremove, even during a wash cycle. This soil may also give the laundry adingy or dulled appearance, especially on white and light coloredfabrics, which may increase over time as dye fixative is appliedmultiple times to the laundry in subsequent wash cycles.

The method 1700 may be implemented as a wash cycle to remove absorbeddye fixative and soil to whiten or brighten laundry items. The method1700 may be implemented automatically as part of a whitening or abrightening phase of a wash cycle or a whites only wash cycle, forexample. In another example, the method 1700 may be implemented based onuser selection of a cycle modifier option to selectively implement themethod 1700 as part of a wash cycle. The method 1700 may begin with awash phase 1702 which includes supplying a hot wash liquid to thelaundry items that includes a laundry detergent and a basic agent toincrease the pH of the wash liquid to a basic pH, preferably pH>9. Thetemperature of the treating liquid is preferably at least 110° F. orgreater, but lower temperatures may also be used. Non-limiting examplesof basic agents include powdered alkaline build detergents, alkalineingredients such as sodium or ammonium hydroxide, and other buffercomponents, such as a buffer system formed by sodium bicarbonate andsodium hydroxide, for example. Alternatively, the pH of the wash liquidmay be adjusted through electrolysis.

The alkaline wash liquid may be configured to provide an environmentwith a pH above the pKa of the cationic dye fixative, which may decreasethe adhesion force between the dye fixative and the fabric, resulting inthe release of the dye fixative from the fabric. For example, a basic pHmay facilitate removal of polyamine cationic dye fixatives from thefabric, as described above at 708 of the method 700 of FIG. 17, theembodiments of which may be used with the method 1700.

In one example, the supplying of heated, alkaline liquid and a detergentto the laundry in the treating chamber may overlap as part of the washphase 1702. Alternatively, the wash phase 1702 may be divided into a dyefixative removal stage in which heated, alkaline liquid is supplied tothe laundry first followed by the addition of detergent to the alkalineliquid to form a wash liquid as part of a wash stage. In this manner thedye fixative removal stage may be implemented as a separate stage priorto any wash stage in a selected cycle of operation.

The heating of the liquid, adjusting of the pH and addition of detergentmay be done in any order and may occur simultaneously or sequentially.In one example, the water, basic agent, and detergent may be supplied toa tub of the clothes washer for heating and mixing, such as in a sumparea of the tub, prior to being sprayed onto the laundry in the treatingchamber by a recirculation system. Alternatively, any part of theheating, adjusting the pH or mixing with a detergent may occur prior toentry into the tub or treating chamber. For example, the water may besupplied from a hot water supply or flowed through an in-line heaterprior to being supplied to the tub or sprayed directly onto the laundryin the treating chamber. In another example, the basic agent may bemixed with the heated water as it is being supplied to the laundry inthe treating chamber, such as by adding the basic agent to the flow ofheated water or flowing the heated water through a mixing chamber wherethe heated water can be mixed with the basic agent prior to beingsprayed into the treating chamber.

The wash phase 1702 may include treating the laundry items withadditional laundry adjuncts, such as dye absorbers, oxidizing agentsand/or optical brighteners. In one example, the wash phase 1702 may beimplemented with dye absorbers in a manner similar to that describedabove for cycle 10 of FIG. 1. The dye absorbers may be a mixture ofcationic and nonionic dye absorbers, such as those described above. Thedye absorbers may facilitate preferential distribution of the soil awayfrom the cationic fixative and fabric surface and into solution with thedye absorbers where they may subsequently be removed. The oxidizingagents, such as hydrogen peroxide or a source of hydrogen peroxide, forexample, may be provided to decolorize soil on the laundry items and mayalso oxidize the cationic dye fixative, which may facilitatesolubilization of the cationic dye fixative for subsequent removal.

During the wash phase 1702, the alkaline liquid and/or the wash liquidmay be recirculated through the treating chamber to move the liquidthrough the laundry to facilitate removal of dye fixative from thelaundry and cleaning of the laundry. Mechanical energy may also besupplied to further facilitate removal of the dye fixative and cleaningof the laundry, such as by rotating a drum defining the treating chamberand/or moving a clothes mover within the treating chamber.

At 1704 a rinse phase may be implemented. The rinse phase may includeone or more rinses which may optionally include supplying dye absorbersduring at least one of the rinses. The rinse phase 1704 may beimplemented in a manner similar to that described above for cycle 10 ofFIG. 1 or the method 300 of FIG. 6, which include the use of dyeabsorbers.

Either or both of the wash and rinse phases 1702 and 1704 may berepeated one or more times before ending the cycle at 1706. In oneexample, the number of times the wash phase 1702 and/or rinse phase 1704is repeated may be a predetermined number of times programmed intocontrol software associated with the controller. Alternatively, thenumber of times the wash and/or rinse phases 1702/1704 are repeated maybe set by the user. Each of the wash and rinse phases 1702 and 1704 mayinclude one or more drain phases in which liquid is drained from thetub. The drain phases may optionally include rotating the laundry athigh speeds to facilitate extraction of liquid from the laundry,followed by draining the extracted liquid from the tub.

In another example, the decision to repeat a wash and/or rinse phase1702, 1704 may be determined based on sensor output indicative of apresence of a dye fixative in the wash and/or rinse liquid. The clotheswasher may be provided with a suitable sensor system to determine thepresence of a dye fixative in the treating liquid. The sensor system maybe an optical-based sensor system such as a UV/Visabsorbance/reflectance system, or a conductivity sensor system, forexample. The sensor system may provide an output to the controllerindicative of a presence of a dye fixative in the wash and/or rinseliquid. The controller may decide whether to repeat the wash and/orrinse phase 1702, 1704 based on the output from the sensor system. Thesensor system may take sensor readings continuously or intermittentlythroughout the wash/rinse phases 1702, 1704 or at predetermined stagesof the wash/rinse phases 1702, 1704.

Referring again to FIG. 28, at 1708 a presence of a dye fixative in thewash liquid may optionally be determined by the controller based onoutput received from the sensor system during or at the end of the washphase 1702. The controller may determine that dye fixative is present ifthe output satisfies a predetermined threshold and repeat the wash phase1702. The wash phase 1702 may be repeated based on the determinepresence of a dye fixative a predetermined number of times or until theoutput does not satisfy the threshold. If the output does not satisfythe predetermined threshold, then the cycle may proceed to the nextphase.

Optionally, the determination of the presence of a dye fixative may beused to modify the wash phase 1702 each time the wash phase 1702 isrepeated. For example, the controller may use the output to determine anamount of dye fixative present in the wash liquid and modify cycleparameters such as temperature of the wash liquid, pH of the washliquid, and/or an amount of a treating agent to add. In one example anamount of laundry detergent and/or dye absorbers to supply during thewash phase 1702 may be determined based on the amount of dye fixativedetected in the wash liquid.

The method 1700 may be implemented automatically based on sensor outputor based on information received from the user. For example, the method1700 may be implemented automatically during a cycle of operation basedon a determined presence of a dye fixative. The determination of thepresence of a dye fixative may include determining the presence of a dyefixative in the wash or rinse liquid, in a manner similar to thatdescribed above at 1708 and 1710 of FIG. 28, or on the laundry items.Alternatively, the presence of a dye fixative may be determined based onsensing the presence of dye fixative in the dispenser. In one example,the presence of a dye fixative in the dispenser may be determined usinga suitable sensor configured to determine the presence of a dye fixativein the treating liquid provided in the dispenser. Non-limiting examplesof a sensor include an optical or electrical sensor. In another example,the dye fixative may be stored in a container which carries informationregarding the presence of a dye fixative that may be communicated withthe controller of the appliance. In an exemplary embodiment, the dyefixative may be provided in a dispenser cartridge which carriesinformation, such as a bar code, that can be read by a suitable sensorprovided in the appliance. In another example, the method 1700 may beimplemented based on cycle selections or cycle modifier selections madeby the user through the user interface of the clothes washer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the clothes washer may include a dyefixative removal option that a user can select through the userinterface to implement the dye fixative removal cycle of method 1700 aspart of a selected cycle of operation or as an independent cycle.Additionally, or alternatively, the method 1700 may be implementedautomatically based on the selected cycle, such as a whites only cycle,or based on the phases of the selected cycle, such as a wash cycle witha whitening phase, as described above. In yet another example, the usermay be prompted by the clothes washer to provide information relating tothe laundry item(s) dye fixative treatment status (e.g. the item waspreviously treated in a dye fixative treatment cycle) and the clotheswasher may use this information to automatically implement the method1700 as part of a selected cycle of operation or as an independentcycle.

Alternatively, or additionally, a determination of a presence of a dyefixative may optionally be determined following the rinse phase 1704 at1710. The determination at 1710 may be performed in a manner similar tothat described above at 1708. If dye fixative is determined to bepresent, either the wash phase 1702 or the rinse phase 1704 may berepeated a predetermined number of times or until the output satisfies athreshold value.

FIG. 29 illustrates a schematic of a vertical axis clothes washer, alsosometimes referred to as a top loader, 1850 that is similar to theclothes washer 50 of FIG. 2 except that the clothes washer 1850 isillustrated as having a dispenser 1890 and an optional heating system1898. The elements in the clothes washer 1850 that are similar to thoseof clothes washer 50 have been labeled with the prefix 1800. Only thoseelements necessary for a complete understanding of the embodiments ofthe invention are illustrated and it will be understood that the clotheswasher 1850 may include additional elements traditionally found in aclothes washer without deviating from the scope of the invention.

The clothes washer 1850 may include a dispenser 1890 for dispensing atreating chemistry, which may include water, into the treating chamber1862 or tub 1854 through one or more nozzles 1894. The dispenser 1890may be any suitable single dose, multi-dose or bulk-type dispenser andmay include a treating chemistry storage compartment(s) 1892 and one ormore dispensing pumps 1893 for pumping the treating chemistry from thestorage compartment 1892 to the nozzle 1894 for spraying into thetreating chamber 1862. There may be one or multiple compartment(s) 1892,which may dispense solid or liquid treating chemistries. One or more ofthe storage compartment(s) may receive a removable cartridge containingthe dispensing chemistry. Some of the compartment(s) 1892 may be a cupholding the treating chemistry, which is flushed by liquid, instead ofusing the pump 1893, to dispense the treating chemistry from thecompartment 1892. The dispensing pump 1893 may pump the treatingchemistry directly from the storage compartment 1892 or, alternatively,the dispensing pump 1893 may pump the treating chemistry to a mixingchamber (not shown) for mixing one or more treating chemistries, whichmay include water from a water supply 1872, to form a treating chemistrymixture prior to supplying the treating chemistry mixture to thetreating chamber 1862. The pump 1893 is preferably a metered pump, suchas a piston pump, which is capable of dispensing very precise volumes oftreating chemistries at very precise flow rates.

Treating chemistry which collects in the sump 1858 may be pumped outthrough a household drain 1878 by a pump 1876. Alternatively, the pump1876 may recirculate liquid collected in the sump 1858 back to thetreating chamber 1862 through a recirculation conduit 1880 and a sprayer1874. While a single pump 1876 is illustrated for preforming both thedrain and recirculation functions, separate pumps may be used.

The optional heating system 1898 is provided for heating the liquid usedin the cycle of operation and/or the treating chamber 1862. In this way,the temperature of the liquid and/or laundry in the treating chamber1862 may be raised to a desired temperature for the cycle of operation.The heating system 1898 may be any suitable heating system for thedescribed purpose and is illustrated as a forced air system comprising aresistive heating element 1898A and a fan 1898B, which are configuredsuch that the fan 1898B flows air over the heating element 1898A and theheated air is sent to the treating chamber 1862. Alternatively, theheating system 1898 could be a heater located within a liquid supplyline or in the sump 1858 to heat the liquid that is applied to thelaundry in the treating chamber 1862. However, for the low liquidvolumes used in the embodiments described herein, there may beinsufficient liquid volumes to fully immerse a heater in the sump,making the forced air system more desirable.

FIG. 30 illustrates a color care cycle 1900 for supplying a treatingchemistry, such as a color care agent, to laundry in the treatingchamber 1862 during an automatic cycle of operation. While the colorcare cycle 1900 is described in the context of the clothes washer 1850,it will be understood that the cycle 1900 may be used with any of theclothes washers described herein, such as clothes washer 50, 450 and2050. The color care cycle 1900 may be used to supply one or more colorcare agents to the treating chamber 1862 for the preservation of laundrycolor and/or the inhibition of a dye transfer event. While the colorcare cycle 1900 is described in the context of supplying a fabricsoftener as the color care agent, the color care agent may includealternate or additional treating chemistries, non-limiting examples ofwhich include one or more cationic surfactants, cationic polymers,emulsions, vesicles, micelles, dye absorbers or dye fixatives orcombinations thereof. The color care agent may be provided to thetreating chamber 1862 as a mixture and may include one or moreadditional treating chemistries, non-limiting examples of which includewater, fragrance and colorants.

The color care cycle 1900 begins with assuming that the user has placedthe laundry for treatment into the treating chamber 1862, provided atreating chemistry that includes a color agent to the dispenser 1890 andselected a cycle of operation that includes the color care cycle 1900.The color care cycle 1900 may be an independent cycle or part of anothercycle of operation.

The color care cycle 1900 may include an optional laundry load detectionphase 1902 that may be used to determine an amount of laundry present inthe treating chamber 1862. The amount of laundry may be qualitative orquantitative and may be determined manually based on user input throughthe user interface 1884 or automatically by the washing machine 1850 ina manner similar to that described for the laundry load detection phase22 of FIG. 1.

The color care cycle 1900 includes a pre-wash phase 1904 which includesforming a pre-wash mixture 1906 and supplying the thus formed pre-washmixture to the treating chamber 1862 at 1908. Following the pre-washphase 1904, a wash phase 1910 may be implemented in which a wash mixtureis formed at 1912 and supplied to the treating chamber 1862 at 1914. Thewash phase 1910 may also include the application of mechanical energy1916 to the laundry in the treating chamber 1862 to treat the laundryand remove soil from the laundry.

Forming the pre-wash mixture at 1906 may include combining a color careagent, such as a composition that includes a fabric softener, and waterto form a pre-wash mixture having a predetermined concentration offabric softener. The dispensing pump 1893 may be configured to dispensea controlled amount of fabric softener from the storage compartment 1892to provide a predetermined concentration of fabric softener to thetreating chamber 1862 throughout the supplying of the pre-wash mixtureat 1908. In one example, the dispensing pump 1893 may continuously orintermittently dose a predetermined portion of the fabric softenerstored in the storage compartment 1892 to a flow of water in real timeto form the pre-wash mixture. In another example, the dispensing pump1893 may repeatedly pump a micro-dose of the fabric softener into a flowof water. Dosing a predetermined portion of the fabric softener may bebased on dosing a predetermined amount of fabric softener and/orpredetermined rate of fabric softener based on the concentration of thefabric softener in the storage compartment 1892 and the desired endconcentration of fabric softener to be applied to the laundry in thetreating chamber 1862. In another example, the fabric softener and watercan be supplied to the sump 1858 at predetermined ratios or atpredetermined rates to form a pre-wash mixture having the desired endconcentration for application to the laundry. An exemplary ratio offabric softener to water is 4 mL of fabric softener for every 1 L ofwater. The thus formed pre-wash mixture may then be circulated from thesump 1858 to the laundry in the treating chamber 1862 by the pump 1876through the recirculation conduit 1880 and the sprayer 1874. In yetanother example, the fabric softener may be combined with anothertreating chemistry, such as water, in a mixing chamber to form apre-diluted concentrate that is then pumped into a flow of water or intothe sump 1858 for mixture with water also supplied to the sump 1858.

The pre-wash mixture may be formed at 1906 at a predeterminedconcentration that is based on the amount of laundry in the treatingchamber 1862, as determined at the load detection phase 1902. The amountof pre-wash mixture formed at 1906 may also be based on the amount oflaundry and may be set so as to provide enough pre-wash mixture touniformly cover the laundry with the pre-wash mixture withoutoversaturating the laundry. As used herein, oversaturating the laundryrefers to a condition in which the amount of water and/or fabricsoftener associated with the laundry is more than is necessary touniformly cover the surface of the laundry. Providing excess water andfabric softener to the laundry unnecessarily consumes these resources.In addition, excess fabric softener may interact with treatingchemistries, such as laundry detergent, supplied during other portionsof the cycle resulting in an undesirable amount of an undesirableby-product, such as a precipitate. Thus, an appropriate amount of fabricsoftener will be an amount that can cover the laundry for the determinedload size without the fabric softener precipitating with otherchemistries used during the cycle of operation. While it is desired thatevery surface of the laundry be uniformly covered with fabric softenerat the determined concentration level, practically it is understood thatthis is not likely possible. Thus, it is expected that a suitable amountmay result in less than perfect coverage and a small amount ofprecipitate which does not interfere with treating performance of thecycle of operation is tolerable.

Referring now to FIG. 31, one example of a treating chemistry supplymethod 1950 is illustrated, which may be used at 1908 of the cycle 1900of FIG. 30 for supplying a pre-wash mixture to the laundry in thetreating chamber 1862. While the method 1950 is described in the contextof supplying a pre-wash mixture, it will be understood that the method1950 may be used to supply any suitable treating chemistry to thelaundry. The method 1950 may be used with the cycle 1900 or any othercycle in which a treating chemistry is supplied to the laundry toprovide uniform coverage of the laundry without oversaturating thelaundry with the treating chemistry. Further, while the treatingchemistry supply method 1950 is designed for a vertical axis machine, itmay be used in a horizontal axis machine.

In overview, the method 1950 initially supplies the pre-wash mixture tothe tub 1854 to maintain the level of pre-wash mixture at apredetermined level. During the supply of pre-wash mixture, the pre-washmixture is recirculated while the drum 1860 is rotated at a slow speed.The liquid level in the sump 1858 is checked to confirm that there issufficient liquid for continued recirculation. If not, the recirculationis stopped until sufficient liquid is supplied for recirculation.Ultimately, a steady state is reached where the liquid in the sumpmaintains a predetermined level while the liquid is continuouslyrecirculated and the supply of pre-wash liquid is terminated while therecirculation is continued. The termination of the recirculation withdrum rotation may be based on time, which may be a function of the timeto reach the steady state.

In a specific implementation, the method 1950 may begin with an optionaldrain step 1952 in which liquid that has collected in the sump 1858 isdrained by the pump 1876. At 1954, water and fabric softener may beprovided to the sump 1858 as a pre-formed, pre-wash mixture or to formthe pre-wash mixture, such as described above at 1906 of the cycle 1900,until the liquid level satisfies a predetermined threshold wl max.Providing the pre-wash mixture to the sump at 1954 may be considered afill process. The level of liquid in the sump 1858 may be determined inany suitable manner, such as based on output from a pressure sensorlocated in the sump 1858, and is not germane to the embodiments of theinvention.

At 1956 recirculation of the liquid in the sump 1858 and rotation of thedrum 1860 may begin. The recirculation and rotation of the drum 1860 maybegin at the same time or one may begin at some predetermined delayafter the other. In one example, recirculation may begin after the drum1860 has been rotating for a predetermined period of time or when therotational speed of the drum 1860 reaches a predetermined speed. Thefilling started at 1954 may continue for a predetermined period of timeduring recirculation and rotation at 1956 or may be halted prior tobeginning recirculation and/or rotation at 1956. In one example, thefill process of 1954 continues as recirculation is started and the drum1860 starts to rotate to a predetermined speed, such as 26 rpm, forexample. The fill, recirculation and rotation may continue for apredetermined period of time, such as 10 seconds, for example, beforemoving on to a liquid level determination at 1958 a, b.

Following the start of recirculation and rotation of the drum at 1956,the process loops back and forth between 1958 a and 1958 b to determineif the liquid level wl in the sump satisfies a pair of upper and lowerthreshold values, which in the exemplary method 1950 correspond to 10and 0.5. The upper and lower threshold values may correspond to a heightof liquid in the sump or an output from the pressure sensorrepresentative of the level of liquid in the sump 1858. The lowerthreshold value may correspond to an amount of liquid in the sump 1858that satisfies the pump 1876 by providing a sufficient amount of liquidto decrease the likelihood of starvation of the pump 1876. As usedherein, starvation with respect to a pump refers when the pump inletdraws in air, not just liquid. The upper threshold value may correspondto a desired amount of liquid for completing the treating chemistrysupply method. In one example, the upper threshold value may correspondto a liquid level in the sump 1858 which will satisfy the pump 1876during recirculation of the liquid in the sump 1876 even as some of therecirculating liquid is absorbed by the laundry. Prior to saturation ofthe laundry with the liquid, as liquid is sprayed onto the laundry, thelaundry may absorb some of the liquid, thus the amount of liquid whichcollects in the sump 1858 after spraying will likely be less than theamount of liquid in the sump 1858 prior to the spraying.

If the liquid level wl in the sump is below the lower threshold value0.5 at 1958 a, then recirculation is stopped at 1960 and the drum 1860is rotated while continuing to fill the sump 1858 with the pre-washmixture until the liquid level satisfies the upper threshold value 10 at1962, at which point recirculation is started at 1964 and filling isstopped at 1966. At 1958 b, if the liquid level in the sump 1858 goesabove the upper threshold value 10 before it drops below the lowerthreshold value 0.5, then the process stops filling at 1966.

At 1968, the pre-wash mixture has been provided to increase the liquidlevel wl in the sump to satisfy the upper threshold value 10 whilerecirculation continues and filling has been stopped and parametert_(—)0 is set. The drum 1860 may continue to rotate at 26 rpm for theremainder of the process 1950. After t_(—)0 is defined, the remainder ofthe process 1950 relates to determining if the liquid level wl in thesump is staying above a predetermined lower threshold level determinedaccording to the relationship wl<os−ts*(time−t_(—)0).

Referring now to FIGS. 32A and B, graphs 2000 and 2002 of liquid levelin the sump over time for a large load and a small load, respectivelyare illustrated. The graphs 2000 and 2002 are illustrated for thepurposes of discussion and do not represent actual data. As liquid isprovided to the sump 1858 during a fill process, the sump liquid levelincreases. At a predetermined liquid level 2004, filling is stopped andrecirculation of the liquid in the sump 1858 is started. As the liquidis recirculated onto the laundry and absorbed by the laundry, the liquidlevel in the sump 1858 begins to decrease. The amount of time t_(c) thatit takes for the liquid level to decrease to a predetermined level mayvary depending on characteristics of the laundry, such as the loadamount and fabric type, for example, as well as the speed of rotation ofthe drum 1860 during recirculation. As illustrated in FIGS. 32A and B,the time t_(c) for a large load is smaller than the time t_(c) for asmall load. Viewed another way, the rate of change of the liquid levelin the sump during recirculation (i.e. the slope) is faster for a largeload than for a small load. During recirculation, larger loads mayabsorb more water than small loads and thus the liquid level in the sump1858 for a large load will decrease faster than an equivalent smallload.

FIG. 33 graphically illustrates the relationship between wl, os, ts,t_(—)0 and t_(c) for the purposes of discussion only and is not meant tolimit the embodiments of the invention in any way. Graph 2006illustrates the change in liquid level, lower threshold and refill levelover time for a single load during a filling and recirculation processto cover the laundry with a pre-wash mixture. The pre-wash mixture maybe provided to the sump 1858 during a fill 2008 to increase the liquidlevel to a first fill level 2010 at which point recirculation of thepre-wash mixture is started. The point at which recirculation is startedis time t_(—)0. As the liquid is recirculated, the liquid level in thesump 1858 decreases. When the liquid level in the sump reaches a firstlower threshold 2012, recirculation is halted and the filling processbegins again until the liquid level reaches a second fill level orrefill level 2014. When the liquid level in the sump reaches the refilllevel 2014, recirculation is started and a new t_(—)0 and lowerthreshold level wl 2016 is determined. As the liquid level in the sumpdecreases during recirculation, when the liquid level reaches the lowerthreshold level wl 2016, recirculation is stopped and the fillingprocess begins again until the liquid level reaches the second refilllevel 2018. The fill and recirculate process may be repeated any numberof times until the liquid level in the sump remains above the lowerthreshold for a predetermined period of time. Each time the fill andrecirculate process is repeated, the lower threshold level may bevaried, by changing os and ts, based on the amount of time it took forthe liquid level to drop below the lower threshold level in the previousfill and recirculate process. The term os is an offset value whichcorresponds to the lower threshold at time t_(—)0; the term ts is thetarget slope which corresponds to the rate at which the lower thresholddecreases. As the laundry becomes covered and saturated with thepre-wash mixture, the amount of time it takes for the liquid level inthe sump to decrease to the lower threshold level increases.

Depending on the characteristics of the load, such as amount and fabrictype, for example, the liquid level in the sump may decrease at varyingrates. The rate at which the liquid level in the sump decreases affectshow long it takes to reach the lower threshold level, which isdetermined by the offset os and the target slope ts, illustrated bylower limit 2020. The parameters os and ts may be determinedexperimentally or based on empirical data for different load conditionsto provide the desired degree of coverage using a predetermined amountof resources and time.

In this manner, the supplying of the pre-wash mixture may be implementedadaptively to supply enough pre-wash mixture to the laundry to provide apredetermined level of coverage and saturation without oversaturatingthe load or using an excessive amount of water and/or fabric softener.The amount of pre-wash mixture absorbed by the laundry during a fill andrecirculate process may be used to determine an amount of pre-washmixture to provide in a subsequent fill and recirculate process.

Referring again to FIG. 31, at 1970, it may be determined if the liquidlevel wl in the sump 1858 remained above the predetermined lowerthreshold level for a predetermined period of time, such as 30 seconds.If the liquid level wl in the sump 1858 did not remain above the lowerthreshold level for longer than 30 seconds, at 1972 it is determined ifthe liquid level wl in the sump 1858 satisfies the relationshipwl<os−ts*(time−t_(—)0). If the liquid level wl in the sump 1858 does notsatisfy this relationship, then the process loops back to 1970. If theliquid level wl in the sump 1858 does satisfy the relationship, thenrecirculation is stopped at 1974, the refill level, os, ts and lowerthreshold level are determined for the next fill and recirculationprocess based on the length of time it took for the liquid level wl toreach the previous lower threshold level. The pre-wash mixture isprovided to the sump 1858 at 1978 to begin the refill process until theliquid level wl in the sump 1858 reaches the refill level and thenrecirculation is started again at 1964.

This process is repeated until it is determined at 1970 that the liquidlevel wl in the sump 1858 remains above the lower threshold level for 30seconds or more. The process then advances to 1982 and the lowerthreshold level may be set to a predetermined value, such as 0.5, forexample. If the liquid level wl in the sump 1858 remains above 0.5, theprocess continues for a predetermined period of time before completion.In the exemplary embodiment, if the liquid level wl remains above 0.5,the process continues for 60 more seconds and then recirculation anddrum rotation is stopped and the liquid collected in the sump 1858 mayoptionally be drained at 1984 and the process completed at 1986.

If the liquid level wl in the sump 1858 drops below 0.5 with at least 10seconds remaining in the process at 1988 and 1990, then the fill processis implemented for a predetermined period time, such as 5 seconds,during which recirculation and drum rotation continue. Optionally, ifthere is less than 10 seconds remaining, the liquid level wl may beallowed to continue to decrease until completion of the process. In thisscenario, during this final portion, the time is never reset as it is inprocess loop 1970 to 1968. If the liquid level drops below the lowerthreshold level and fill is activated, the time simply continuescounting towards the 60 second limit, at which point the process isended as described previously.

During the fill process in which the pre-wash mixture is provided to thesump 1858, the fabric softener may be dispensed at a constant or varyingrate such that when the amount of liquid remaining in the sump 1858during recirculation satisfies the time threshold for the amount of timethe liquid level remains above the lower threshold, the concentration offabric softener on the laundry item and the level of coverage satisfiesa predetermined threshold.

Referring again to FIG. 30, supplying the pre-wash mixture may includerecirculating the pre-wash mixture onto the laundry while the drum 1860is rotating such that minimal mechanical energy is provided to theindividual items in the laundry load. This may include rotating the drum1860 such that there is little relative movement of the laundry itemsrelative to one another, such as at low speeds or at high spin speedsafter the laundry items have already satellized to the periphery of thedrum 1860. Low speeds may be speeds at which no tumbling or rolling ofthe laundry items occur, for example. In addition, supplying thepre-wash mixture may be done without activating a clothes mover, such asan agitator or impeller.

In a variation, supplying the pre-wash mixture at 1908 of the cycle 1900may include rotating the drum 1860 at a first, slower rotational speedand a second, faster rotational speed while spraying the pre-washmixture into the treating chamber 1862 rather than while rotating at asingle speed as described with respect to the method 1950 of FIG. 31.For example, the pre-wash mixture may be recirculated and sprayed intothe treating chamber 1862 while the drum 1860 is rotating up to and/orat a first, slower speed. After a predetermined period of time or aftera predetermined speed threshold is satisfied, the recirculation andspraying of the pre-wash mixture may be stopped and the drum rotationalspeed may be accelerated to a second, faster speed. When the drumrotational speed reaches the second speed or a predetermined period oftime after the drum speed reaches the second speed, the recirculationand spraying of the pre-wash mixture may be re-started. The second speedmay be a spin speed at which a centrifugal force of at least 1 G isprovided to the laundry items such that laundry items have satellizedaround the periphery of the drum 1860. Once the laundry items havesatellized, even though the drum 1860 may be rotating at a high speed,the laundry items are not moving relative to each other.

In this manner, the pre-wash mixture may be supplied to the laundry loadwhen there is minimal relative movement between the items of the laundryload and not supplied to the laundry items when the load items aremoving, such as when transitioning between the first and second speeds.This may decrease the amount of dye transfer between laundry items dueto frictional contact between laundry items as they move relative toeach other. In addition, the redistribution of the laundry load betweenthe first speed and the second speed may facilitate even coverage of thelaundry load with the pre-wash mixture by exposing different surfaces tothe pre-wash mixture spray and/or facilitating movement of the pre-washmixture through the laundry load.

In yet another variation, supplying the pre-wash mixture at 1908 may bedone while the drum 1860 is rotated at different speeds so as to formmultiple flow channels through the laundry in a manner similar to thatdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 6A-6B. In this example,recirculation of the pre-wash mixture stops when the drum speed isaccelerated or decelerated between different speeds and is re-startedonce the drum speed reaches the new speed.

The pre-wash mixture may be sprayed onto the laundry using one or moresprayers and may be applied as a mist, fog, or stream using any suitablespray nozzle or other spraying device or according to any methods forsupplying a treating chemistry described herein. A single sprayer 1874may be used to spray the pre-wash mixture onto a predetermined portionof the load that enters a spray zone corresponding to that sprayer. Thespray zone may be considered the area which liquid emitted from thesprayer directly contacts. The sprayer 1874 may be configured to coveronly a portion of the treating chamber 1682 and the laundry may berotated to enter the portion of the treating chamber 1862 covered by thesprayer 1874. In another example, the sprayer may be configured to coverthe entire treating chamber 1862 such that all of the exposed surfacesof the laundry in the treating chamber 1862 are covered by the liquidemitted by the sprayer 1874 without rotating the drum 1860. In yetanother example, the clothes washer 1850 may include multiple sprayersto cover multiple portions of the treating chamber 1862 with a singlespray.

Optionally, supplying the pre-wash mixture at 1908 of the cycle 1900 mayalso include applying heat to the laundry. In one example heated air maybe applied to the laundry after it has been treated with the pre-washmixture using the heating system 1898. The application of heated air maybe used to increase the temperature of the laundry to a predeterminedtemperature, which is preferably below the setting temperature of bloodto avoid setting blood stains in the laundry items. The heated air maybe supplied to the treating chamber 1862 with or without agitation ormovement of the laundry, such as by rotation of the drum 1860. In oneexample, the application of heated air to laundry that has been treatedaccording the cycle 1900 with a pre-wash mixture that includes a fabricsoftener has been found to further facilitate the inhibition of dyetransfer in the subsequent wash phase 1910 compared to when heated airis not applied.

A benefit of the pre-wash process 1904 for forming and supplying apre-wash mixture is that a treating chemistry, such as a fabric softenermay be uniformly applied to a laundry load without immersing orsubmerging the laundry in liquid as is typically done in a deep-fillprocess, which results in a substantial reduction of water consumedduring the cycle. A deep-fill process will use approximately 16 litersof water for an 8 lb load, whereas the current process uses 8 liters ofwater for the same load size. For example, typically during a rinsephase in which it is desired to treat the laundry with a fabricsoftener, water and fabric softener will be supplied to the treatingchamber to submerge the laundry in the water and fabric softener inorder to achieve even distribution of the fabric softener.

The pre-wash process 1904 described herein may be used not only in apre-wash setting, but also in the traditional application of fabricsoftener during a rinse phase, which follows a wash phase. The use ofthe current method in the traditional rinse phase will have the samebenefits of uniformly distributing a fabric softener to the laundry,without the extra consumption of water and time of a traditionaldeep-fill process. Further the use of the current method for a fabricsoftener dispensing during the rinse phase can simplify the controls oruser interface for the washing machine. Contemporary washing machineshave a dedicated selector to indicate that fabric softener is being usedso that the cycle of operation may be modified accordingly to include adeep-fill rinse for application of the fabric softener. The currentmethod can be implemented automatically without the need for a dedicatedselector.

Still referring to FIG. 30, the transition between the pre-wash phase1904 and the wash phase 1910 of the cycle 1900 may optionally includingan extraction phase in which the laundry is spun at high speeds toextract liquid from the laundry and/or a drain phase in which liquidcollected in the sump 1858 is drained by the pump 1876. The drain and/orextract phases may be configured so as to provide a predetermined amountof carry-over of the pre-wash mixture into the wash phase 1910. In oneexample, the laundry may be spun at high speeds to extract the pre-washmixture from the laundry such that a predetermined amount of thepre-wash mixture remains in the laundry. Depending on the components ofthe pre-wash mixture, it may be desirable to have a small amount ofcarry-over in the laundry, such as when the color care agent is a dyefixative; in another example, in the case of a dye absorber, a higheramount of carry-over of the pre-wash mixture may be desirable. Inanother example, the drain and extract phases may be controlled suchthat some amount of the pre-wash mixture is extracted from the laundryand held over in the sump 1858 such that the pre-wash mixture may bere-applied in the subsequent wash phase 1910. This may be desirable whenthe pre-wash mixture includes a dye absorber such that dye absorber isre-supplied to the laundry, such as during a portion of the wash phase1910 in which mechanical energy is applied to the laundry, for example,to further facilitate inhibition of a dye transfer event.

Referring now to FIG. 34, a schematic of a horizontal axis clotheswasher 2050 that is similar to the clothes washer 450 of FIG. 10 isillustrated except that the clothes washer 2050 is illustrated as havingan optional heating system 2098, in a manner similar to that describedabove for the clothes washer 1850 of FIG. 29. The elements in theclothes washer 2050 that are similar to those of clothes washer 450 havebeen labeled with the prefix 2000. Only those elements necessary for acomplete understanding of the embodiments of the invention areillustrated and it will be understood that the clothes washer 2050 mayinclude additional elements traditionally found in a clothes washerwithout deviating from the scope of the invention. The clothes washer2050 may be used to implement the cycle 1900 of FIG. 30 in a mannersimilar to that described above with respect to the vertical axisclothes washer 1850 of FIG. 29.

FIG. 35 illustrates a method 2100 for supplying a treating chemistrywhich may be used at 1908 of the cycle 1900 of FIG. 30 for supplying apre-wash mixture to the laundry in the treating chamber 2062 of theclothes washer 2050. The pre-wash mixture may be formed according to anyof the methods described above at 1906 of the cycle 1900 to provide apredetermined amount of fabric softener to the laundry in the treatingchamber 2062. While the method 2100 is described in the context ofsupplying a pre-wash mixture, it will be understood that the method 2100may be used to supplying any suitable treating chemistry to the laundry.The method 2100 may be used with the cycle 1900 or any other cycle inwhich a treating chemistry is supplied to the laundry. The method 2100may be implemented to provide an even distribution of the fabricsoftener to the laundry items under liquid volume and time constraints.

Still referring to FIG. 35, the method 2100 may begin with rotating thedrum 2060 to a first satellizing speed at 2102 without wetting thelaundry to form an annulus of laundry in the drum 2060. While it iscontemplated that the laundry placed in the treating chamber 2062 willbe dry, there is the possibility that it may be wet when placed into thetreating chamber 2062. The lack of wetting during the formation of theannulus 2102 means that liquid is not applied to the laundry during theformation of the annulus, not that the laundry may not already be wetfor other reasons. Rotating the drum 2060 to the first satellizing speedwithout wetting the laundry may facilitate forming a balanced loaddistribution that stays balanced throughout the method 2100. The annuluswill be formed as the laundry items move to the periphery of the drum2060 due to centrifugal forces that the load experiences when rotatingat a speed at which the centrifugal force is generally greater than onegravitational force or 1 G. At 2104, the laundry may be wet by sprayinga treating chemistry, such as the pre-wash mixture, through the sprayer2074 into the treating chamber 2062 while the drum 2060 is stillrotating at the first satellizing speed. While rotating at the firstsatellizing speed, the laundry items are not moving relative to oneanother and essentially remain plastered against the inner wall of thedrum 2060, forming the annulus. In this manner, the fabric surfacesforming the inner surface of the annulus are exposed to the pre-washmixture that is sprayed from the sprayer 2074.

The first satellizing speed may be a speed at which the laundry annulusmay be formed but which provides a first centrifugal force that isinsufficient to extract liquid carried by the laundry from the laundryat a rate that is great enough to satisfy the pump 2076. As used herein,satisfying the pump refers to providing an amount of liquid and a rateof liquid flow to the pump 2076 such that starvation of the pump 2076 inwhich the pump 2076 draws in air satisfies a predetermined threshold.The satisfying of the pump 2076 may be done by monitoring the currentdraw of the pump 2076, the noise of the pump 2076, or the speed of thepump 2076. However, a convenient way to determine that the pump 2076 issatisfied is to maintain a predetermined amount of water in the sump2058 or to maintain a minimum level of water in the sump 2058. Thus, theterm “satisfies” the pump is used herein to mean that the variationsatisfies a predetermined threshold, such as being equal to, less than,or greater than the threshold value, which in this case may correspondto an amount or rate of starvation. It will be understood that such adetermination may easily be altered to be satisfied by apositive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. For example, aless than threshold value can easily be satisfied by applying a greaterthan test when the data is numerically inverted.

When it is determined that the pump 2076 is not satisfied, the drumspeed rotation may be decreased, by braking and/or controlling the motor2066 to reduce the speed and allowing the drum 2060 to slow, to aredistribution speed at 2106 without stopping the rotation of the drum2060. The redistribution speed may correspond to a speed wherein theannulus of laundry which has been partially wet at 2104 redistributesand the pump 2076 is satisfied. Redistribution of the load may includetumbling, rolling and/or sliding all or a portion of the load. In mostcases, the speed of the drum 2060 need only drop enough such that atleast part, but preferably all, of the articles forming the laundryexperience a centrifugal force of less than 1 G, which will permit thearticles to redistribute. While the drum 2060 may be stopped and/orreversed to accomplish the redistribution, it is not necessary to do so.From an overall cycle time perspective, not stopping the drum 2060 ispreferred.

At a predetermined period of time following rotation of the drum 2060 atthe redistribution speed, at 2108 the drum 2060 may be accelerated to asecond satellizing speed, greater than the first satellizing speed. Thesecond satellizing speed may correspond to a speed at which a secondcentrifugal force is applied to the laundry that is sufficient toextract liquid carried by the laundry in an amount and rate sufficientto satisfy the pump 2076. During rotation of the drum 2060, liquidextracted from the load is recirculated onto the load by the pump 2076to further wet the load at 2110.

In one example, rotating the drum 2060 at the second satellizing speedand recirculating the liquid at 2110 may be implemented for apredetermined period of time. Toward the end of the predetermined periodof time, the rotational speed of the drum 2060 may be decreased untilthe pump 2076 is no longer capable of providing liquid at a sufficientamount and pressure to the sprayer 2074 for spraying through the sprayer2074 or until the rotational speed of the drum 2060 reaches a speedwhere the centrifugal forces are no longer sufficient to extract liquidfrom the laundry in an amount and rate that is sufficient to satisfy thepump 2074. Alternatively, the drum speed may be decreased until apredetermined drum speed is reached, until a predetermined time periodhas lapsed, or until a liquid level in the sump 2058 satisfies apredetermined liquid level threshold. In this manner the amount ofliquid applied to the laundry may be increased and the amount of liquidremaining in the sump 2058 decreases.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first centrifugal force corresponds to a23 inch diameter drum rotating at a first satellizing speed of 250 rpm,and the second centrifugal force corresponds to a 23 inch diameter drumrotating at a second satellizing speed of 350 rpm.

The amount of liquid supplied to the treating chamber 2062 forrecirculation may be limited based on the amount of laundry in thetreating chamber 2062. In one example, a maximum amount of liquidsupplied to the treating chamber 2062 for a 4 pound or less laundry loadis 1.75 gallons, 2.27 gallons for a load amount of 8 pounds or less, butgreater than 4 pounds, or 2.9 gallons for a load amount of 12 pounds orless, but greater than 8 pounds.

As described above for the pre-wash phase 1904 of cycle 1900 withrespect to FIG. 30, the recirculating pre-wash mixture may be sprayedonto the laundry using one or more sprayers. A single sprayer 2074 maybe used to spray the pre-wash mixture onto a predetermined portion ofthe load that enters a spray zone corresponding to that sprayer. Thespray zone may be considered the area which liquid emitted from thesprayer 2074 directly contacts. The sprayer 2074 may be configured tocover only a portion of the treating chamber 2062 and the laundry may berotated to enter the portion of the treating chamber 2062 covered by thesprayer 2074. In another example, the sprayer 2074 may be configured tocover the entire treating chamber 2062 such that all of the exposedsurfaces of the laundry in the treating chamber 2062 are covered by theliquid emitted by sprayer 2074 without rotating the drum 2060. In yetanother example, the clothes washer 2050 may include multiple sprayersto cover multiple portions of the treating chamber 2062 with a singlespray.

Optionally, supplying the pre-wash mixture at 1908 of the cycle 1900 mayalso include applying heat to the laundry. In one example heated air maybe applied to the laundry after it has been treated with the pre-washmixture using the heating system 2098. The application of heated air maybe used to increase the temperature of the laundry to a predeterminedtemperature, which is preferably below the setting temperature of bloodto avoid setting blood stains in the laundry items. The heated air maybe supplied to the treating chamber 2062 with or without agitation ormovement of the laundry, such as by rotation of the drum 2054.

To the extent not already described, the different features andstructures of the various embodiments may be used in combination witheach other as desired. For example, any of the processes 10, 100, 120,150, 200, 206, 212, 300, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 710, 800, 850, 1000,1020, 1050, 1300, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1900, 1950, or 2100 may be combinedin whole or in part with one another and used with any of the apparatus50, 450, 1100, 1850, or 2050 described herein or any other suitableapparatus not explicitly described herein. That one feature may not beillustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed thatit cannot be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the variousfeatures of the different embodiments may be mixed and matched asdesired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments areexpressly disclosed.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that thisis by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variationand modification are possible within the scope of the forgoingdisclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of theinvention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of inhibiting dye transfer between itemsof laundry in a laundry treating appliance comprising a treating chamberfor receiving the laundry items for treatment according to a cycle ofoperation, the method comprising: supplying liquid to the treatingchamber to form a liquid mixture comprising the liquid and free dyemolecules from the laundry; supplying a dye absorber to the liquidmixture to form a complex of dye molecules and absorber in solution orin suspension within the liquid mixture; conducting at least one ofultraviolet (UV) or visible light spectroscopy on the liquid atpredetermined wavelengths characteristic of at least one of the dyeabsorber or the complex to define at least one of an absorbance orfluorescence value indicative of a level of at least one of the dyeabsorber or complex in the liquid; comparing the absorbance orfluorescence value to a reference value; and altering the cycle ofoperation in response to the comparison.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein supplying the dye absorber is contemporaneous with the supplyingof liquid to the treating chamber.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein theliquid comprises water and a dye absorber.
 4. The method of claim 2further comprising determining the reference value by conducting atleast one of UV or visible light spectroscopy on the liquid atpredetermined wavelengths characteristic of at least one of the dyeabsorber or the complex.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the conductingat least one of UV or visible light spectroscopy is conducted during thecontemporaneous supplying of the dye absorber and liquid.
 6. The methodof claim 4 wherein the conducting at least one of UV or visible lightspectroscopy is conducted on a portion of the liquid without anycomplex.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplying of the dyeabsorber comprises supplying a predetermined amount of dye absorber. 8.The method of claim 7 wherein the absorbance or fluorescence value isindicative of the dye absorber in the liquid.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein the reference value comprises an expected level of dye absorberbased on a predetermined amount of dye absorber.
 10. The method of claim1 wherein the supplying of the dye absorber comprises supplying a liquiddye absorber.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein the conducting at leastone of UV or visible light spectroscopy comprises conducting both UV andvisible light spectroscopy.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein theabsorbance or fluorescence value is indicative of the dye absorberlevel.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference value comprises athreshold value.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the altering thecycle of operation comprises supplying additional dye absorber.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 further comprising repeating the conducting at leastone of ultraviolet (UV) or visible light spectroscopy, comparing, andsupplying additional dye absorber until the comparison indicates freedye absorber is present in the liquid.
 16. The method of claim 1 whereinthe altering the cycle of operation comprises providing an alert to auser of the appliance.
 17. A method of inhibiting dye transfer betweenitems of laundry in a laundry treating appliance comprising a treatingchamber for receiving the laundry items for treatment according to acycle of operation, the method comprising: supplying liquid to thetreating chamber to form a liquid mixture comprising the liquid and freedye molecules from the laundry; supplying a dye absorber to the liquidmixture to form a complex of dye molecules and absorber in solution orin suspension within the liquid mixture; determining a characteristic ofthe liquid mixture indicative of a level of free dye absorber in theliquid; and altering the cycle of operation in response to thedetermination of free dye absorber in the liquid.
 18. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the determining a characteristic comprises determiningan optical characteristic.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein theoptical characteristic comprises at least one of a UV or Visiblereflectance, absorbance or fluorescence.